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Actress Ruby Rose has detailed a horrible hate crime attack that left her hospitalized from her injuries.
The former Batwoman star, who left the show last year over creative differences, told the UK newspaper The Guardian about a harrowing attack that occurred not long after her coming out.
At the time, Rose still lived with her single mother, Katia, in her native Australia. She came out publicly as a lesbian at the tender age of 12, and began experimenting with gender fluidity.
Her coming out came at a price, however. Bullying immediately followed, with her fellow students writing “We hate Ruby” on bathroom walls and accusing her of leering at them in changing rooms.
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“It was horrendous,” Rose told The Guardian. “It was little bullying moments like that, that just made me feel like I couldn’t be myself.”
Related: Ruby Rose quits Batwoman role ahead of show’s second season
The bullying hit a fever pitch with a violent attack on Rose by several other students.
“I was hospitalized and then was out of school for about five days,” Rose recalled. “I got beaten up by about four girls and one guy in front of about 50 people. They hit me in the head with metal chairs at a cafe, and they threw things at me. They punched me.”
“I ended up with lacerations, big bruises, concussion and also … just how much that horrifies your soul, your spirit. I’d been bullied a lot, but not to this degree where I was worried for my life.”
Worse, nobody from the crowd of bystanders did anything to intervene. Rose says she’s since received apologies from some of the crowd for their inaction.
She and her mother initially planned to press charges against her attackers, but eventually were convinced not to do so.
Rose’s mother Katia didn’t have the funds for a long legal fight against several people. There was also concern for young Ruby’s mental health, which she had struggled with prior to coming out. Instead, Ruby changed schools.
Of course, Rose has had the last laugh. A stint as an MTV VJ led to a modeling career, and eventually, an acting one too. She’s since appeared in the popular films The Meg, John Wick: Chapter 2, and on the Netflix series Orange is the New Black before landing her role on Batwoman. The actress will next appear in the comedy Three Sisters.
Fahd
Where were the police? They should have indicted her attackers. Or is the legal system different in Australia? Do you need money to press charges against someone who has committed a violent crime against you?
Bullying needs to stop and the more these stories are told the sooner we all will own up to the darkside and make progress. Bravo to her.
James26
It’s a big hole in her story. You don’t need 1 cent to request that the state prosecute someone criminally. The state prosecution office makes the final decision and, if the prosecutor decides to pursue the matter, the proceeding is between the state and the accused. The victim doesn’t pay for anything. The only burden on Rose would be to testify, and in this type of case, the testimony probably would be all of 30 minutes to an hour.
Once the attackers were convicted, Rose could have then sued them in a civil action and recovered money for her pain and suffering. The criminal conviction would resolve everything in Rose’s favor except for the amount of her award. So it makes no sense whatsoever that she didn’t insist on criminal prosecution.
Kevan1
@Fahd and James 26 out of curiosity are you guys from Australia? Just wondering how you know Australian law so well.
jeters
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Cozmo2
I hope she hit back
Griff_Greymuzzle
She didn’t leave the show because of creative differences… She literally left because “TV is hard work, who knew?”. I pretty much lost all respect for her when she boosted herself as an icon and then ditched because it was a full-time job.