Ruby Rose makes explosive allegations of toxic, dangerous Batwoman set and gruesome injuries
Ruby Rose attends the Australians In Film Awards at InterContinental Los Angeles Century City on 23 October 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Phillip Faraone/WireImage)
Ruby Rose has come forward with allegations of toxic working conditions on the set of CW’s Batwoman that she said led to gruesome injuries.
Rose left her role as the out-and-proud Kate Kane in 2020, with reports at the time suggesting it was down to an on-set injury.
Now the Australian actor, 35, took to Instagram stories Wednesday (20 October) to share the realities of working on the Batwoman set, where she described a culture of toxicity and apathy towards staff.
Among the most explosive allegations, she accused the series’ producers and showrunner of abusive behaviour and dangerous on-set practices which resulted in a string of horrific injuries to herself, stunt staff and other workers.
Rose accused Warner Bros Television executive Peter Roth of hiring a private investigator to track her as well as “bullying” and “blackmail” from the network’s leadership.
She claimed she was rushed back to work after injuring her neck and back or else the entire crew would lose their jobs. At one point, a stunt nearly ended with her “blinded” in one eye.
One stunt person, she claimed, suffered a burn injury which saw “his skin fall off his face”. She lamented CW, which is jointly owned by media giants ViacomCBS and WarnerMedia, for not offering therapy.
Her personal assistant, meanwhile, was “left quadriplegic” following an incident, she claimed.
Ruby Rose says ‘enough is enough’ as she alleges gruesome Batwoman injuries
“Enough is enough,” Ruby Rose wrote in the first post. “I’m going to tell the world what really happened on that set… I will come for you, so what happened to me never happens to another person again.
“And so I can finally take back my life and the truth. Shame on you.”
Rose posted a series of stories addressed to the CW, Batwoman showrunner Caroline Dries, and Greg Berlanti and Sarah Schechter of the show’s production company Berlanti Productions.
Taking aim at Roth, she said: “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 — or if you left after putting a private investigation on me, who you fired as soon as the report didn’t fit your narrative.
“When it comes to you, there’s already an army waiting for you.”
(Instagram)
She also uploaded video footage of her at a hospital visit regarding injuries she suffered to her ribs and neck. An offscreen doctor can be heard calling her ribs “abnormal”.
At the time of her injury, she wrote on her Instagram: “I was told I needed an emergency surgery or I was risking becoming paralysed.
“I had herniated two discs doing stunts, and they were close to severing my spinal chord [sic]. I was in chronic pain and yet couldn’t feel my arms.”
Speaking two years later today, she wrote to her critics: “To everyone who said I was too stiff on Batwoman, 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 would recast and I just lost the studio millions (by getting injured on his set).
“Instead of spending half a day to rewrite me out for a few weeks to heal.”
Rose added she has no plans to return to the “awful” Batwoman for “any amount of money, nor if a gun were to my head”.
Although, she sought to stress that she did not “quit” the programme. “They ruined Kate Kane and they destroyed Batwoman, not me,” she said.
“I followed orders, and if I wanted to stay I was going to have to sign my rights away. Any threats, any bulling tactics or blackmail will not make me stand down.”
After Ruby Rose departed from the show, the role was taken up by actor Javicia Leslie, who was cast as the first-ever Black Batwoman.
Warner Bros Television said in a statement to PinkNews: “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 decided not to exercise its option to engage Ruby for season two of Batwoman based on multiple complaints about workplace behaviour that were extensively reviewed and handled privately out of respect for all concerned.”
