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The Flash: Issa Rae Calls Out “Repeat Offender” Ezra Miller and “Effort to Save the Movie”

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Insecure creator and star Issa Rae is sharing her thoughts on the recent controversies surrounding actor Ezra Miller. In a recent interview with Elle Magazine, Rae spoke about many facets of the entertainment industry writ large, including what more Hollywood needs to do following the initial waves of the #MeToo movement. In particular, Rae singled out the industry response to Miller’s various criminal offenses, including multiple arrests and allegations of physical assault, as representing a “microcosm of Hollywood.” Rae’s comments arrive just days after the news that Warner Bros. Discovery is still moving forward with the Miller-starring The Flash movie amid these controversies, even reportedly recently working with the actor on reshoots.

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“It starts with a backbone,” Rae explained. “While I don’t support people jumping to immediate conclusions and I think it’s entirely fair for investigations to happen, I think it’s extremely important to, like the mantra says, ‘Listen to women.’ I’m gonna be real, the stuff that’s happening with Ezra Miller is, to me, a microcosm of Hollywood. There’s this person who’s a repeat offender, who’s been behaving atrociously, and as opposed to shutting them down and shutting the production down, there’s an effort to save the movie and them. That is a clear example of the lengths that Hollywood will go to to save itself and to protect offenders. So, don’t do that, and women may be able to thrive. They won’t have to live in fear of keeping silent because it’ll ruin their careers. It’s just a constant pattern of abuse that’ll only persist if Hollywood continues to insist on being this way.”

In recent months, Miller has made headlines for a string of controversial offscreen behavior,ย after they initially got arrested for disorderly conduct and harassmentย in Hawaii in late March. That same night, Miller allegedlyย burst into a couple’s bedroom window, stole several items from them, and threatened to burn them,ย leading to a restraining order that was ultimately dropped. Just hours before that court appearance, Millerย was arrested an additional time in Hawaii on charges of second-degree assaultย after allegedly throwing a chair at a woman, resulting in a half-inch cut in her head. More recently, the parents of 18-year-old Standing Rock activist Tokata Iron Eyesย filed for an order of protection against Miller, alleging that the actor had groomed Tokata and supplied them with a high dose of LSD.

Just a week later,ย another parent in Massachusetts secured a temporary restraining order against Miller, after they reportedly exhibited menacing behavior towards the now 12-year-old child and brandished a gun on the mother. Millerย subsequently deleted their Instagram accountย after posting a string of messages about being in another universe. Later reports accused Miller ofย housing children in an unsafe environmentย in their farm in Vermont. In August, Millerย was charged with felony burglary after allegedly stealing alcohol from a residence.

Amid these ordeals, reports indicated that Warner Bros.ย was considering all options for how to deal with The Flash amid Miller’s controversies, including potentially scrapping the movie entirely. In recent months, Millerย released a statement confirming that they had begun undergoing treatment for their mental health, a decision that was reportedly sparked by Miller learning that the film could potentially get cancelled. According to sources with knowledge of a recent meeting between Miller and Warner Bros. film chairs Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy, “They care about The Flash. It’s one of their favorite characters to play.”

What do you think of Issa Rae’s comments about Ezra Miller’s recent controversies? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!