Ruby Rose Alleges Mistreatment on Batwoman Set

Holy scorched earth, Batman!

In a series of scathing Instagram posts, actress Ruby Rose finally opened up about her abrupt departure from the CW’s Batwoman.

Rose departed the series ahead of its second season in May 2020, and Javicia Leslie was brought in as a new character to take over the title role.

On Wednesday, Rose took to her Instagram Stories to share her side of the story, alleging wrongdoing and mistreatment during her time on the CW superhero series. She addressed her comments to the network, Batwoman showrunner Caroline Dries, and producers Greg Berlanti and Sarah Schechter.

In a series of slides, Rose leveled accusations against her former bosses, starting with Warner Bros. TV’s Peter Roth, writing, "Not sure if you left after getting promoted to the highest position because you just couldn't stop making young women steam your pants around your crotch while you were still wearing said pants."

She said she was forced to come back to work after suffering a neck injury on the set and undergoing emergency surgery, writing, "To everyone who said I was too stiff on bawoman, imagine going back to work 10 days after this … 10 DAYS!!!!!! (or the whole crew and cast would be fired and I’d let everyone down because Peter Roth said he wouldn’t recast and i just lost the studio millions (by getting injured on his set) that is be the one who cost so many people their jobs."

She says others were injured on the set, writing, “A crew member got 3rd degree burns over his whole body, and we were given no therapy after witnessing his skin fall off his face but I was the only one who sent him flowers and cards.”

She also said there was an increase in accidents during the early days of the pandemic, when the show continued to shoot while other CW shows shut down. “I got cut in the face so close to my eye in a stunt I could have been blind. A woman was left quadriplegic and they tried to blame it on her being on her phone, so much so the CW didn’t even help her to start with because they needed to "investigate" so she had to do a go fund me...she's a PA, they work via phones." She added, "Our show refused to shut down when everyone else did because of Covid. @carolinedries has no heart and wanted us to finish the season throughout the pandemic and I told her it was a bad idea.”

Rose claimed that she couldn't attend 2019's San Diego Comic-Con with the rest of the cast because the studio refused to adjust her shooting schedule -- and was then forced to post an apology video about her absence on social media. "Imagine taking a huge pay cut to play a passion project and being so excited about Comic-Con and then being told they would not adjust the schedule so I could attend. But then saying ‘We won’t announce it, you have to.’ And me putting my foot down and sayin why must I be the face of this??? Only to be told if I didn’t do this video they would be silent and people would turn up to find out on the day I wasn’t there... I folded."

Rose also called out costar Dougray Scott, who plays Jacob Kane, writing that he "hurt a female stunt double, he yelled like a little bitch at women and was a nightmare. He left when he wanted and arrived when he wanted. He abused women and in turn as the lead of a show I sent an email out asking for a no yelling policy, they declined."

In response to Rose’s allegations, Warner Bros. Television released a strongly worded statement implying she was the one who mistreated others on set. The statement sent to Deadline reads, “Despite the revisionist history that Ruby Rose is now sharing online aimed at the producers, the cast and crew, the network, and the Studio, the truth is that Warner Bros. Television had decided not to exercise its option to engage Ruby for season two of Batwoman based on multiple complaints about workplace behavior that were extensively reviewed and handled privately out of respect for all concerned.”

During the time of her departure from the series, there were rumours about an investigation into Rose’s behaviour but it had not officially been confirmed until today.