Australian actress Ruby Rose has deleted her Twitter account following backlash over her recent casting as an openly gay Batwoman in CW’s proposed live action series on the superhero.
While the television network was widely appreciated for casting a queer actress in the role, some on Twitter were not happy with the move and questioned Rose’s acting skills. Others contended that a lesser-known lesbian actress should have been given the opportunity.
Rose’s credits include the Netflix series Orange is the New Black (2013) and the films Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (2016) and xXx: Return of Xander Cage (2017). She was last seen in Jon Turteltaub’s The Meg, which was released on August 10 and has scored big at the box office in the the United States of America.
The Batwoman series, which is looking to be picked up for 2019-20, will follow the life of wealthy heiress Kate Kane, who becomes a masked vigilante following in Batman’s steps. Written by Caroline Dries (The Vampire Diaries, Smallville), the show will be bankrolled by Berlanti Productions and Warner Bros Television. The character will first appear in a crossover episode in December between four DC shows on The CW: The Flash, Arrow, Legends of Tomorrow and Supergirl.
Before quitting Twitter, Rose, in a string of posts, condemned the social media attacks. According to her tweets, some had also questioned whether she was queer. The actress reportedly said:
“Where on earth did ‘Ruby is not a lesbian therefore she can’t be batwoman’ come from – has to be the funniest most ridiculous thing I’ve ever read. I came out at 12? And have for the past 5 years had to deal with ‘she’s too gay’ how doy’all flip it like that? I didn’t change. I wish we would all support each other and our journeys.
When women and when minorities join forces we are unstoppable... when we tear each other down it’s much more hurtful than from any group. But hey/ love a challenge I just wish women and the LGBT community supported each other more, My wish was we were all a little kinder and more supportive of each other...Sending everyone my love and gratitude, it’s been a rollercoaster of a year, this month especially.
I am looking forward to getting more than 4 hours of sleep and to break from Twitter to focus all my energy on my next 2 projects. If you need me, I’ll be on my Bat Phone.”
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Rose has also restricted comments on her Instagram account.
In June, Star Wars star Kelly Marie Tran quit Instagram and Stranger Things actress Millie Bobby Brown deleted her Twitter account after facing harassment online.
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