Hartley Sawyer's ouster from 'The Flash' has fans divided as apology over racist tweets fails to win hearts
The Elongated Man may have a nose for mystery, but his famous twitchy nose did Hartley Sawyer no good when his old tweets came back to haunt him. The actor, who plays Ralph Dibny on 'The Flash', was fired after several racists and mysogynist tweets from earlier in his life were discovered. Though the Elongated Man remains a beloved character, fans are strongly behind The CW's decision.
"Let's get a new Elongated Man to replace Hartley Sawyer. Only this Elongated Man must be willing to accept EVERYONE, no matter what race, religion, orientation, or gender a person is," writes a fan online which, given the Elongated Man's shapeshifting abilities, would certainly be a lot easier to explain than Batwoman's new appearance.
Hartley himself apologized for the tweets late in May, though it's done nothing to soften the fans' ire. "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 wrote. "I am incredibly sorry, ashamed and disappointed in myself for my ignorance back then. I want to be very clear: this is not reflective of what I think or who I am now," he continues, and later concludes with, "But how I define myself now does not take away the impact of my words, or my responsibility for them. I am very sorry."
It is about as sincere an apology as one can make in the circumstances, and it has won some fans over. "Hartley Sawyer made very horrible tweets over 7 years ago. He got fired and deleted his account. THIS MAN does NOT deserve this. He already apologized and losing his job for, key word, SAYING things that he shouldn't have is just ridiculous," writes one fan, in support. "Give Hartley sawyer a second chance! Those were really old tweets, he might have changed into a better person," writes another.
Other fans, though, do not believe just an apology is enough. "Shocked by what Hartley Sawyer said. Glad he was fired from the flash," writes a fan. One fan has harsh words for Hartley's supporters, writing, "Hey, straight white men: you don’t get to accept hartley sawyer’s apology for what he said and tell people to 'get over it' when you weren’t part of the groups he was insulting. bye."
'The Flash' will continue with or without the Elongated Man in 2021, on The CW.