The Ezra Miller controversies Hollywood desperately wants us to forget.

This week, The Flash movie premiere played out like almost all other fancy red carpets.

The film's star, Ezra Miller, walked the carpet to the sounds of screaming and applause. They interacted with fans who had spent hours lining up for a glimpse and posed for photos with the film's director, Andrés Muschietti. 

They did not speak to press — the first sign that things weren't totally business as usual —  but thanked the people behind the film and acknowledged their "grace and discernment and care" before the screening.

Miller has a lot to thank them for, as those behind The Flash have gone to great lengths to keep this movie alive.

Miller's ascent to top billing on a superhero film, especially as an eccentric, non-binary star with a long history of activism, was supposed to be the story here.

They broke through in the early 2010s, with roles as misunderstood teenagers in We Need to Talk About Kevin and The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Then came the blockbuster franchises, with an important supporting role in the Fantastic Beasts franchise and the role of The Flash/Barry Allen in the DC Extended Universe films and now, the character's own film.

Instead, Miller's story has become defined by a well-documented reign of terror, and now, Hollywood's insistence on ignoring it.

Read more: Grooming allegations and cult rumours: Why everyone is talking about Ezra Miller.

It began in April 2020, when a video of Miller choking and throwing an unnamed woman to the ground in a Reykjavik bar went viral.

Then, throughout 2022, arrests and police interventions across both Hawaii and the United States were published on homepages all around the world, which included alleged burglary, disorderly conduct and an incident where Miller allegedly threatened a couple, saying "I will bury you and your slut wife".

Then came allegations of grooming and manipulating minors, as well as a report that Miller was housing a mother-of-three and her young children at their farm in "unsafe conditions".

In August 2022, Miller finally issued a statement:

"Having recently gone through a time of intense crisis, I now understand that I am suffering complex mental health issues and have begun ongoing treatment," the statement said.

"I want to apologise to everyone that I have alarmed and upset with my past behaviour. I am committed to doing the necessary work to get back to a healthy, safe and productive stage in my life."

At the time of writing, no evidence of this 'work' has been shared publicly.

In January, Miller pleaded guilty to a misdemeanour of unlawful trespassing in a Vermont court. They were required to pay a $500 fine, complete a year of probation, and must abide by a number of conditions including ongoing mental health treatment. 

Since then, the approach has been simple: ignore it, and hope it goes away.

Typically, a major film like this would see its lead plastered just about everywhere, from TV slots to magazine covers and podcasts to TiKToks.

Miller has not been involved in any media to promote The Flash. Instead, director Muschietti has done a lot of the heavy lifting. Instead, they attended the premiere, where they experienced movie star treatment and were sheltered from press.

Ben Affleck, Andrés Muschietti and Ezra Miller at The Flash premiere. Image: Getty.

Warner Bros., the studio behind the superhero franchise, has also stayed quiet on its lead. 

It has offered little in the way of statement or stance, besides a source leaking to Rolling Stone in April 2022 that executives from WB and DC held an emergency meeting in March of that year.

According to the publication, the only consensus was to hit pause on any future projects involving Miller as the superhero.

More than a year on, that might have been walked back as well, as in a recent podcast discussion, director Muschietti said he has no plans to recast Miller despite the actor's legal troubles.

"If [a sequel] happens, yes," Muschietti told The Discourse podcast about having Miller back as the Flash. "I don't think there's anyone that can play that character as well as they did."

Of course, Hollywood's bottom line is always its literal, financial bottom line.

Despite the Miller element, The Flash is projected to make AU$330 million worldwide during its opening, according to Deadline. 

Without its star gracing late night talk shows, The Flash has relied on a strangely old-school word-of-mouth tactic to build up its hype.

A slew of celebrities have been talking up the film recently, and cynical internet users have taken note of how everyone seems to talk about the movie at large, rather than the performance of Miller by name - who, through playing multiple characters, is present in virtually every scene. 

Among the praise, Jaden Smith shared a series of (unrelated) selfies on Instagram captioned: "The Flash Was Amazing I Just Don’t Know What To Say Wow", and The Hollywood Reporter published an article headlined "Tom Cruise Has Seen 'The Flash' … and He Loved It (Exclusive)". 

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A post shared by Jaden Smith (@c.syresmith)

It's unusual, to say the least.

All of it boils back down to the issue at hand: we're being told, indirectly, to ignore Miller. That their actions are 1. not serious enough to warrant any stronger action and/or 2. not as important as this film.

Normally, I'd say that how much or how little Miller matters remains to be seen at the box office. But in this case, Hollywood's message is already clear enough.

Feature image: Getty.