Sophia Michaels
Issa Rae, actress, producer and creator of the hit HBO comedy Insecure, has taken aim at the Hollywood machine for protecting The Flash star Ezra Miller as they repeatedly ran afoul of the law.
Asked in an Elle interview about how the entertainment industry needs to change, Rae said, “I think it’s extremely important to, like the mantra says, ‘Listen to women.’” She then brought up the controversial Miller, who this year made headlines with a string of arrests for assault, harassment and burglary.
“I’m gonna be real, the stuff that’s happening with Ezra Miller is, to me, a microcosm of Hollywood,” Rae said. “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.” She was referring to the upcoming Warner Bros. superhero film The Flash, which initially wrapped production in 2021 and is scheduled for a June 2023 release. Only days ago, Miller returned to set for reshoots.
“That is a clear example of the lengths that Hollywood will go to to save itself and to protect offenders,” Rae concluded. “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.”
This past June was especially tumultuous for Miller, as they were hit with temporary restraining orders from the parents of 18-year-old Native American activist Tokata Iron Eyes and an unnamed 12-year-old child in Massachusetts, both stemming from alleged inappropriate behavior. That same month, Rolling Stone reported that Miller was housing a mother and her three young children at his farm in Vermont, where guns and ammunition were easily accessible. The apparently unsafe living conditions prompted a visit from state authorities, who were unable to confirm the whereabouts of the woman or kids.
In August, Miller said they were entering treatment for “complex mental health issues.” Soon after, he apologized to Warner Bros. executives in an effort to save The Flash from cancelation. In September, a Vanity Fair report detailed Miller’s downward spiral, which began with drug benders in Iceland at the outset of the Covid-19 pandemic and eventually lead to delusions that they were “the Messiah,” while the Flash was the “Jesus” of the D.C. comics multiverse.
