Adapted from a story by The Washington Post’s Michael Cavna.
Then, over the weekend, Rose quit Twitter and shut down public commenting on her Instagram account after receiving backlash for the very same thing.
In 2006, DC Comics canonically reintroduced Batwoman (a.k.a. Kate Kane) to its modern universe as a character who is lesbian and of Jewish descent. Some online commenters wrote that Rose was “not gay enough” to play the role because she has identified as gender-fluid, as well as the fact that Rose is not Jewish. Rose’s situation tracks onto other actors’ experiences of being criticized for playing gay characters on screen.
I can’t speak for her acting quality and Ruby Rose is not Jewish, but I do have an issue with people criticizing her for not being a lesbian.
— C.S. Conrad 🏳️🌈 🏋🏻♀️👩🏻💻✍🏻📱📷 (@Paradoxalpoised) August 10, 2018
Ruby Rose is genderfluid and she has always said she prefers women.
It’s wrong to go around saying she’s not gay enough for #Batwoman.
Before abandoning Twitter, Rose got in a few final tweets about the negative reaction to her casting.
“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,” tweeted the actress, whose casting was announced last week. “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?
Last year, the actress recounted to NBC’s “Today” her experience of coming out as gay at 12 and having identified as gender-fluid.
A string of Twitter exits
Much of the backlash huddled around the hashtag #RecastBatwoman, with some commenters wanting to see “Big Legend” actress Ashley Platz get the role.
Rose is just the latest celebrity in a geek-world project to quit a social-media platform. “Rick and Morty” creator Dan Harmon recently quit Twitter after a controversy over past content. “Star Wars” actresses Kelly Marie Tran and Daisy Ridley quit Instagram after receiving online backlash.
Rose’s controversy was followed by the news that Disney has cast a straight actor, British comedian Jack Whitehall, to play its first major openly gay live-action character, as the Times reported.
Whitehall will star opposite Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt in “Jungle Cruise.”
British actor Ethan Harvey reflected the sentiment of some critics when he criticized the casting on Twitter: “If only there were gay actors who could play ‘camp’ as well as Jack Whitehall.”
‘She will slay’
Fellow celebrities, meanwhile, tweeted out congratulatory messages. Arrowverse colleague Stephen Amell, who stars on the CW’s “Arrow,” was among those who tweeted his support of the former “Orange Is the New Black” actress.
Hey @RubyRose — Welcome!! It’s characters like Batwoman that will carry our Universe into the future. See you soon!
— Stephen Amell (@StephenAmell) August 10, 2018
Perfect . She will SLAY .
— Janelle Monáe, Cindi (@JanelleMonae) August 8, 2018
Congratssss @RubyRose ❤️🎈 https://t.co/d5DU6qYcbf
Congrats @RubyRose. Totally awesomely good! https://t.co/UWWUbyu8EU
— Laverne Cox (@Lavernecox) August 7, 2018
Rose also tweeted that she is taking a “break from Twitter to focus all my energy on my next 2 projects.” Over the weekend, Rose was widely seen in another Warner Bros. property, “The Meg,” which topped the box office with a $44 million domestic debut.
“If you need me,” Rose tweeted, “I’ll be on my Bat Phone.”