Stephen Amell has Grant Gustin’s back.
The 39-year-old Toronto native tweeted in support of Gustin after The Flash actor condemned co-star Hartley Sawyer for past social media postings that denigrated women, minorities and gay people, calling him ‘one of the most thoughtful guys I know’ and saying he was ‘supporting [his] friend.’
Gustin had shared a post from The Flash showrunner Eric Wallace after he let go of Sawyer, saying he was ‘mad as hell’ and brokenhearted at what he’d seen from the actor, who played Ralph Dibny on the TV series.
Got his back: Stephen Amell, 39, tweeted in support of Gustin after The Flash actor condemned co-star Hartley Sawyer for past social media postings that denigrated women, minorities and gay people
Wallace said that Sawyer’s posts were ‘indicative of the larger problem in our country,’ and ‘at present, our country still accepts and protects the continual harassment – unconscious or otherwise – terrorizing and brutalizing of Black and Brown people – which is far too often fatal.’
Wallace, referencing the current nationwide demonstrations against racism and police brutality in the death of George Floyd, said ‘our country is standing up once again and shouting “ENOUGH” to bring about active change.
Gustin reposted Wallace’s statement, adding, ‘I don’t have much to add because Eric’s thoughts are stated so eloquently and powerfully. I will say I was shocked, saddened and angry when I saw the tweets. Words matter.’
Amell showed his support for his colleague, stressing that Gustin was expressing his true beliefs as opposed to publicly showing support for his boss.
Showing support: The actor reposted showrunner Eric Wallace while saying he was very upset about the revelation about his former costar
‘Grant is one of the most thoughtful guys I know,’ said Amell, who portrayed Oliver Queen/Green Arrow on The CW’s Arrow. ‘He listens… and he wears his heart on his sleeve. Proud to have worked with him.’
He added: ‘Also… I’m aware that the showrunner wrote this. I’m supporting my friend. That’s it.’
Among the tweets that have detailed Sawyer’s career include 2013s tweet that read, ‘Out at dinner and just exposed myself as a racist, AGAIN.’
He helped make his earlier case in a separate tweet, writing, ‘The only thing keeping me from doing mildly racist tweets is the knowledge that Al Sharpton would never stop complaining about me.’
Mea culpa: Sawyer took to social media with a detailed apology late last month
On the job hunt: Hartley will be looking for a new acting gig following his ouster from The Flash. He was snapped in LA last year
The year later, in 2014, Sawyer claimed he’d ‘enjoyed a secret boob viewing at an audition today’ and in another, said he wanted to ‘date rape myself so I don’t have to masturbate.’
Sawyer also used a homophobic slur in a response to another user, writing, ‘I don’t care and f**s are fine but sports often make me snore.’
Sawyer on May 30 took to Instagram decrying his former social media postings, calling them ‘hurtful, and unacceptable’ and admitting he’s ‘ashamed [he] was capable of these really horrible attempts to get attention at that time.’
‘I regret them deeply,’ he said. ‘This was not acceptable behavior. These were words I threw out at the time with no thought or recognition of the harm my words could do, and now have done today.’
Hartley joins a growing list of actors who’ve lost lucrative gigs over offensive social media communications.
Roseanne Barr in 2018 lost her highly-rated ABC reboot after writing of Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett: ‘Muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby=vj.’ The show went on without Roseanne, re-titled The Conners, killing her off in the storyline with a drug overdose.
The year before, Kathy Griffin was canned from her CNN’s New Year’s Eve after posting a tweet in which she held up a replica of President Donald Trump’s head drenched in blood.
Comic Gilbert Gottfried’s stream of morbid real-time jokes about the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan – in which more than 20,000 died – got him canned from playing the voice of the Aflac Duck.