A year and a half on from her unexpected departure from the series – in what was reported at the time to have not been “100% her decision” – actress Ruby Rose has hit out at Warner Bros. Television and The CW over her time on DC superhero series Batwoman, with the studio – and several cast-mates – subsequently speaking out to deny her allegations.
Rose, who suggested earlier this year that she left the role of Kate Kane as she was allergic to the mask, shared a lengthy post to Instagram stories, addressing The CW, Batwoman showrunner Caroline Dries, and Berlanti Prods’ Greg Berlanti and Sarah Schechter and stating: “Enough is enough. I’m going to tell the whole 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 went on to allege that she had been coerced into returning to the Batwoman set after suffering an injury, with Warner Bros. TV chief Peter Roth threatening that “the whole cast and crew would be fired” if not, as well as accusing co-star Dougray Scott of being abusive to women on set and ruling out a return to the series: “I wouldn’t return for any amount of money nor if a gun were to my head. NOR DID I QUIT. I DID NOT QUIT. They ruined Kate Kane and they destroyed Batwoman, not me. I followed orders, and if I wanted to stay I was going to have to sign my rights away. Any threats, any bullying tactics or blackmail will not make me stand down.”
In response to Rose’s allegations, Warner Bros. Television issued a statement to refute the complaints:
“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.”
Dougray Scott, who portrayed Kate’s father Jacob Kane, also released his own statement, which reads: “I absolutely and completely refute the defamatory and damaging claims made against me by [Ruby Rose]; they are entirely made up and never happened. As Warner Bros. Television has stated, they decided not to exercise the option to engage Ruby for Season 2… based on multiple complaints about her workplace behaviour.”
Also commenting on the situation is Batwoman actor Camrus Johnson (Batwing), who shared the following to Twitter:
Batfam ya know I couldn’t go the whole day without saying something! I love y’all, don’t think I haven’t seen all the love today. But yea fam, she was fired. And it is VERY hard to be fired when you’re the lead. Imagine what u have to do for that 2 happenhttps://t.co/XwdvjpP9wv
— Camrus Johnson (@CamrusJ) October 21, 2021
Since it was claimed she “walked away” last year I’m sure some of you may be pretty confused or upset, and even moreso that a lot of lies were spread today. Just know we have a lot of great souls working on this show and none of this changes that. From the top to the bottom.
— Camrus Johnson (@CamrusJ) October 21, 2021
Given the conflicting statements and accounts, all that’s really clear is that there were some serious issues on Batwoman, and while Warner Bros. has certainly had its fair share of complaints regarding toxic workplace behaviour (see Ray Fisher and Josstice League), it’s also worth noting that Rose had indicated earlier this year that she was open to returning to the show prior to the decision to recast Kate Kane with Krypton star Wallis Day. However, we suspect this may not be the last we’ll hear of the situation…
