Hartley Sawyer Fired from The Flash for Racist and Homophobic Slurs

Hartley Sawyer who got fame for his role in The Flash TV show will not be returning for the next season, confirmed CW, Warner Bros. TV, and Berlanti Productions who fired the actor after his racist and homophobic tweets resurfaced.

“In regards to Mr. Sawyer’s posts on social media, we do not tolerate derogatory remarks that target any race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, or sexual orientation. Such remarks are antithetical to our values and policies, which strive and evolve to promote a safe, inclusive, and productive environment for our workforce,” said the statement by the company.

In a series of tweets from 2011 till 2014, Sawyer made multiple derogatory remarks about women, people of color and transgender community.

“All women should be in sex farms,” the actor tweeted in 2011 on his now deactivated Twitter account.

“The only thing stopping me from doing mildly racist tweets is the knowledge that Al Sharpton would never stop complaining about me,” he wrote in 2012.

The Flash actor tweeted this in 2014, “Out at dinner and just exposed myself as a racist, AGAIN,” and later wrote, “Jingle bells, batman smells, women shouldn’t vote.”

After the backlash due to his tweets, the 35-year old penned down an apology for his fans, friends and colleagues.

“I’m not here to make excuses — regardless of the intention, my words matter and they carry profound consequences. And mine can and have caused pain and embarrassment, along with feelings I can only imagine, to supporters and fans, my castmates, the crew, my colleagues and friends. I owe them all an apology. And I owe each of you an apology. Thank you for holding me accountable,” said Sawyer.

“My words, irrelevant of being meant with an intent of humor, were hurtful, and unacceptable. I am ashamed I was capable of these really horrible attempts to get attention at that time. I regret them deeply,” he continued.

“I want to be very clear: this is not reflective of what I think or who I am now. Years ago, thanks to friends and experiences who helped me to open my eyes, I began my journey into becoming a more responsible adult – in terms of what I say, what I do, and beyond. I am very sorry,” concluded the actor.