Hartley Sawyer, "The Flash" (Photo: CW)

‘The Flash’ kicks Hartley Sawyer to the curb

“The Flash” has fired Hartley Sawyer, the actor who played Ralph Dibny, also known as the Elongated Man, after a horrid collection of racist, sexist and violent tweets were uncovered, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

The first question: Why did it take so long? Why was he hired in the first place? Why didn’t anyone in HR just do a cursory check of his Twitter feed when the network was considering him for the role? How could this really be such a surprise?

Sawyer wasn’t hiding the nonsense.

Continue reading “‘The Flash’ kicks Hartley Sawyer to the curb”

Fox News racist graphic.

At a moment of national mourning and protest, Fox News finds a new low

Nationwide protests continue across the country as outraged and heartbroken Americans react to the murder of George Floyd by a police officer.

Fox News offered as part of its coverage an image to prove things aren’t so bad.

During “Special Report with Bret Baier” on Friday, the cable network presented an infographic to its viewers that argued that the stock market does nothing but improve after the death of prominent African-American men.

For example:

After Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, the stock market rose 2.9 percent.

After Floyd’s murder, the stock market rose 3.4 percent.

The only conclusion from this dubious chart is that killing African-American men is good for the economy.

On Saturday, after being hit with criticism from anyone with an IQ above room temperature, the network dropped a half-assed apology.

“The infographic used on Fox News Channel’s ‘Special Report’ to illustrate market reactions to historic periods of civil unrest should have never aired on television without full context. We apologize for the insensitivity of the image and take this issue seriously,” the statement read.

In what context can this ever not be racist?

Some producer in some meeting actually had to think this up and assign it to a researcher to investigate and then a graphic designer to illustrate.

The fact that nobody at the network had the good sense to object and halt this from ever airing tells you everything you need to know about the integrity of Fox News.

Harley and Batman, "Harley Quinn" (Photo: DC Universe)

Harley Quinn is the hot mess we didn’t know we needed

I don’t like Harley Quinn.

There. I’m owning my bias.

It didn’t start that way.

I enjoyed Harley in her appearances on “Batman: The Animated Series.” No one can match Arlene Sorkin’s off-kilter take on the malice and the mirth in the character.

But after Harley became canon in the DC universe, she got a makeover into an overly sexualized vamp who never addressed the trauma of her past.

Continue reading “Harley Quinn is the hot mess we didn’t know we needed”