Following her departure from The CW’s Batwoman series last year, Ruby Rose has detailed the many reasons she left the show after the first season. The actor shared her work experience on Instagram. In a series of posts, Rose alleged that she both witnessed and suffered gruesome injuries while on set, and endured numerous forms of intimidation from former Warner Bros. TV executive Peter Roth.
She took aim at Roth first, calling him out for allegedly having young women on the crew steam his pants around his crotch while he was still wearing them.
Speaking about her own injuries as Batwoman, Rose explained that she underwent emergency surgery for two herniated discs, with doctors telling her she could have been paralyzed.
The actor said she was required to return to work 10 days after her surgery, with Roth telling her the crew would lose their jobs and it would cost the studio millions if she did not promptly return. She also alleged Roth hired a private investigator to trail her after she left the show.
Another injury Rose discussed in her posts involved a crew member who allegedly received third degree burns while on the job. She said everyone on set watched “his skin fall off,” and there were no therapy services offered to the crew afterward. She alleged that moments after witnessing the gruesome injury, the cast and crew were asked to film a sex scene.
In another incident, Rose said a PA was left paralyzed due to an onset injury. Rose alleged the crew member was blamed for the incident, and The CW opened an investigation on her.
Rose blamed the unsafe working conditions on a rushed timeline, as the showrunner Caroline Dries allegedly refused to shut down production during the height of the pandemic—despite fellow CW projects doing so. Additionally, Rose called Dries a woman who “has no heart,” and alleged that Dries only visited the set four times over filming.
Rose also lambasted fellow actor Dougray Scott, who plays Jacob Kane, calling him an abuser and alleging he injured a stuntwoman on set.
“Dougray hurt a female stunt double he yelled like a little bitch at women and was a nightmare,” she wrote. “He left when he wanted and arrived when he wanted he abused women and in turn as a lead of a show i sent an email out asking for a no yelling policy, they declined..”
Scott has since left Batwoman, after playing Kate Kane’s father for two seasons.
Despite Roth’s alleged threats about never replacing Rose and effectively shutting the show down, Rose has since been replaced as lead by Javicia Leslie as Ryan Wilder/Batwoman. Earlier this year, The CW recruited Krypton actor Wallis Day to play the new Kate Kane.
[Updated 10/20]:
Warner Bros Television has sternly responded to the various, scathing allegations the former Batwoman star levied against the production company. According the Deadline, Warner Bros. agrees with Rose that she was in fact fired from the show, but it says it was the result of an internal investigation into “complaints about workplace behavior” against the actor.
“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.”