Why did Ruby Rose leave the CW’s ‘Batwoman’?
In May 2020, Ruby Rose exited from the CW’s Batwoman after a historic turn as Kate Kane, the first out LGBTQ+ superhero lead on a network TV show. Their decision to walk away from the groundbreaking role shocked & mystified fans, who wanted to know: Why did Ruby Rose leave Batwoman after just one season?
Though rumors that the actress had left due to a severe stunt injury abounded, neither Ruby Rose nor the CW offered a definitive explanation for their sudden departure.
Yet, on Wednesday, Rose broke their silence with an explosive series of Instagram stories that paint a gruesome picture of abuse, sexism, & hazardous working conditions. Rose held nothing back, blasting the CW network, showrunner Caroline Dries, & producer Pete Roth. They also posted graphic personal videos detailing the numerous injuries they had sustained on set.
The shocking mistreatment of women on Batwoman
Why did Ruby Rose leave Batwoman? According to Rose, the cast & crew of Batwoman endured a catalog of horrors during the first year of filming that ranged from sexual harassment to excruciating injuries that the showrunners repeatedly dismissed.
They accused Roth of asking young women on the show’s crew to steam the crotch of his pants while he was still wearing them and alleged that he hired a private investigator to follow Rose after they left Batwoman.
They also slammed their co-star, Dougray Scott, for abusing women physically & verbally on set. Rose wrote of Scott, who plays Kane’s father, “Dougray hurt a female stunt double he yelled like a little (expletive) at women and was a nightmare.”
Agonizing injuries
Prior to their departure in 2020, Rose announced why they underwent emergency surgery for two herniated discs. The spinal injury was the result of performing stunts on the set of Batwoman. It was rumored that this injury had forced them to quit.
In their latest Instagram post, they revealed that the CW pressured them to return to work just ten days after the procedure, threatening to fire other members of the cast & crew if they didn’t comply. They also described horrific injuries sustained by the show’s crew, including third-degree burns and an accident that left a production assistant quadriplegic.
Moreover, said Rose, showrunner Caroline Dries didn’t follow pandemic protocol and pushed to complete filming of Batwoman’s first season at the beginning of the pandemic when other television shows like Riverdale & The Flash were shutting down production.
“Shame on you”
Ruby Rose’s harrowing experiences on the set of Batwoman followed in the wake of a rough beginning. In 2018, the actor deleted their Twitter after receiving widespread internet backlash for the casting of Kane, a lesbian superhero. Critics accused the genderfluid actor of appropriating a lesbian identity that didn’t belong to them, even though Rose identifies as gay.
This was one reason fans were so bewildered by Rose’s decision to leave Batwoman and a role they had fought tooth & nail to defend. However, Rose made it clear in their Instagram post that they will never reprise their role as Kane, a character they claim the CW “ruined.”
“To my dear, dear fans still asking if I will return to that awful show,” Rose wrote in their story, “I wouldn’t return for any amount of money not if a gun were to my head.” They went on to threaten Dries, the CW, and the show’s producers: “I will come for you so that 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.”
In 2020, the CW cast Javicia Leslie, a 34-year-old bisexual actress, as the lead in Batwoman. Instead of replacing Rose as Kate Kane, Leslie plays the original character of Ryan Wilder, a lesbian superhero formerly incarcerated for a crime she didn’t commit. English actress Wallis Day has also joined the cast of Batwoman as an “altered” version of Kate Kane.
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Are you shocked at the truth about why Ruby Rose quit? As Rose leaves the role, will you continue to watch the series? Let us know in the comments below.
