Warner Bros. Releases Statement on Ruby Rose's Batwoman Comments
Warner Bros. Television has released an official statement disputing Ruby Rose's accusations about working conditions, and abuse by the producers and studio behind Batwoman. The series' former star claimed in a series of social media posts that she was effectively forced out of the show after raising concerns about safety on set following an injury she sustained during filming. In statements made to social media early this morning, Rose said she experienced unsafe and hostile working conditions, naming Batwoman producers, Warner Bros. executives, and co-stars Dougray Scott and Camrus Johnson in her story. Speculation has surrounded Rose's exit, which came at the end of the show's first season, with Rose's injury usually at the center of the speculation.
Rose alleged that longtime Warner Bros. Television chief Peter Roth, who announced his retirement at the end of 2020, hired a private investigator to get dirt on her, and then fired the investigator "as soon as the report didn't fit your narrative." Last week, Roth was the subject of a glowing write-up in industry trade magazine Variety after he capped his retirement with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
"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," Warner Bros. Television said in a statement released this afternoon.
After Rose's departure, the part of Kate Kane was eventually recast, with Krypton star Wallis Day playing the role in a handful of episodes in order to give the character's story closure. Much of the speculation around Rose's exit assumed that following her injury, the movie star had trouble keeping up with the grueling schedule of being a TV lead, where long days are considered normal, and being #1 on the call sheet often means appearing in almost every scene and on call for the entire shoot.
A new season of Batwoman premiered on The CW last week and will air a new episode tonight at 9 p.m. ET/PT on The CW. Absent this season is Scott, who left at the end of the series' second season.