Actress Ruby Rose has deleted her social media presence after facing a backlash for being cast as “Batwoman” — not from the right, angry that the self-described lesbian character will be played as written, but from the left, who declared Rose “not gay enough” to play the female superhero.
Rose, who typically dresses as female but identifies as “gender fluid,” was cast as the first openly gay superhero to headline a network television show last week, making entertainment — and comic book — history. Critics hailed the casting as “perfect,” and Rose described the role as a “childhood dream.”
But LGBT and other leftist activists weren’t happy; Rose is gender fluid, they complained, and Batwoman’s alter ego, Kate Kane, is a self-declared lesbian which means Rose isn’t gay enough.
“A #RecastBatwoman hashtag started circulating, with people also wondering why the role couldn’t have gone to a lesser-known LGBTQ+ actress in need of an acting break,” women’s magazine Glamour reported. “Critics also accused Rose of not being a lesbian since she also refers to herself as gender-fluid.”
A few errant Twitter users also complained that Rose isn’t Jewish, though Kane is.
Rose was inundated with tweets, to the degree where she could no longer handle the pressure and completely deleted her account, but not before posting a shocked goodbye message.
“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,” the actress tweeted. “I came out at 12? And have for the past 5 years had to deal with ‘she’s too gay’ how do y’all flip it like that? I didn’t change.”
She also called out social media outrage culture for, essentially, attacking itself: “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.”
Rose now says she’s taking a break from social media to “focus on work.” Her Instagram remains active but public commenting has been closed.