This article covers a sexual assault allegation. All claims are those of Ruby Rose and have been denied by a representative for Katy Perry.
No charges have been filed and no law enforcement investigation has been confirmed.
On Sunday April 12, 2026, Ruby Rose responded to a post on Threads about Katy Perry’s reaction to Justin Bieber’s Coachella set and wrote eight words that stopped the internet. “Katy Perry sexual assaulted me at spice market nightclub in Melbourne. Who gives a shit what she thinks.”
What followed across the next several hours was one of the most significant and raw public accounts of alleged sexual assault that social media has witnessed in years, detailed, graphic, emotionally devastating, and documented in real time as Rose moved from disclosure to police station and back again.
Perry’s representative has categorically denied the allegations, calling them “dangerous reckless lies.” Perry herself has not publicly responded.
How Did The Accusations Surface?
The trigger was mundane. Complex Music posted Katy Perry’s reaction to Justin Bieber’s Coachella headlining performance. Bieber’s set had generated significant online discussion, during the show, he scrolled through YouTube and performed along to videos of himself, an unusual choice that divided opinion.
Perry, watching from the crowd, commented, “Thank God he has YouTube Premium. I don’t wanna see no ads.”
Rose saw that Threads post and replied. Not with a joke. Not with a hot take about the set. With an allegation she said she had been carrying for nearly two decades.
What Has Ruby Rose Alleged?
Rose is 40 years old. She was in her early 20s when the alleged incident took place at Spice Market nightclub in Melbourne, Australia, a venue that has since closed.
ABC News reporting from 2010 documented Rose and Perry spending an evening together in Melbourne after Perry gatecrashed a school formal Rose attended.
They were photographed together and described as traveling during Perry’s promotional visit, which establishes a documented social connection between them in that period.
In her Threads posts, Rose described what she says happened that night in explicit detail.
She said she had been resting on her best friend’s lap specifically to avoid Perry.
She says Perry approached her while she appeared to be asleep or resting, bent down, pulled her underwear aside, and performed an act of non-consensual sexual contact against Rose’s face.
Rose says she immediately vomited.
In subsequent posts she described her decision to keep quiet, and why. She had told the story before, but reframed it as a “funny little drunk story” because she did not know how to process it as what it was.
Perry then offered to help Rose secure a US visa. Rose says that offer was part of why she stayed silent. “I kept it a secret,” she wrote. “But I DID tell yall she wasn’t a good person. Instead I got attacked by everyone.”
When a user tried to dismiss the allegation as a reference to Perry’s song “I Kissed a Girl,” Rose pushed back hard and directly.
“She didn’t kiss me,” she wrote, before describing the act in graphic specificity.
The contrast between the minimizing joke and Rose’s response made clear she was not describing anything that could be reframed as ambiguous.
Why It Took Nearly Two Decades
Rose addressed the timeline directly and repeatedly throughout the thread.
“I was only in my early 20s. I’m now 40. It has taken almost 2 decades to say this publicly. Though I am so grateful to have made it long enough to find my voice, it just shows how much of an impact trauma and sexual assault takes. Thank you for seeing me.”
She wrote about the particular difficulty of speaking about woman-on-woman sexual violence. “As a woman, for a myriad of reasons, opening up about W on W violence and sexual abuse, seems to be 100 times harder than speaking about the male predators, at least for me.”
Model Kate Giddings responded publicly with support, and Rose replied with visible emotion.
She also described a self-talk mechanism she uses before disclosure. “Before I open up about something incredibly raw and traumatic, I tell myself ‘it’s ok, you don’t need people to believe you, you just need to get it out of your poor body, before it gives you cancer.'”
When another user simply replied “I believe you,” Rose described it as bringing her to tears.
The Police Report
Rose initially said she was not going to file a police report.
When a user challenged her on it, she explained her reasoning in terms that will be familiar to anyone who has followed coverage of how sexual assault survivors navigate reporting.
“Yeah, not interested in filing a report over this, not when I haven’t even filed a report for the numerous rapes at the hands of grown men,” she wrote.
She described the cumulative burden of legal proceedings. “Let’s say each case took only 6 months to resolve and I did them back to back. You’re asking too much of Victims to spend 6 years in court reliving their abuse.”
She also made a point about evidence, challenging Perry’s camp to respond rather than threatening legal action herself.
“She is more than welcome to sue me. She won’t, because it happened, I have photos and it was literally in public and witnessed by multiple people. Plus there is so much more that happened in the years leading up to her silly song she won’t want me discussing. The psychological manipulation was strong with that one.”
Then something shifted. After more users raised the point that filing could protect others from potential future harm, Rose changed course.
“Today I will be walking into a police station to see if any of my experiences can be investigated. I imagine they are past their statute of limitations, but all the more reason to try. I have a long list, it will probably take more out of me than I’m prepared for, but I will come back here to update others on the process, as soon as I am ready.”
Hours later, “I did it.”
And then, “Just left the police station.”
Her post-station update was notable for what it revealed. “I said names inside the station that hold much more power than me and frankly, freak me out. I feel very relieved so far but have no expectations. I do however want to assure people that I am in no way suicidal, if you know what I mean. Nor do I take drugs, or have any health conditions.”
The statement about not being suicidal or having health conditions was a direct signal that she believed naming those people could put her at risk of retaliation.
Rose acknowledged the report is likely past any statute of limitations for legal action, but said she filed it anyway.
Katy Perry’s Response
Katy Perry has not personally commented. A representative for Perry issued a statement via Variety:
“The allegations being circulated on social media by Ruby Rose about Katy Perry are not only categorically false, they are dangerous reckless lies. Ms. Rose has a well-documented history of making serious public allegations on social media against various individuals, claims that have repeatedly been denied by those named.”
No further statement has been issued. No law enforcement body has confirmed an investigation is underway.
The Context Around Ruby Rose
Ruby Rose is a 40-year-old Australian actress and model, born in Melbourne.
She rose to international prominence through her role in Orange Is the New Black’s third season in 2015, then through a series of action films, John Wick: Chapter 2, Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, xXx: Return of Xander Cage, Pitch Perfect 3, and The Meg, before being cast as the lead in The CW’s Batwoman in 2019.
Her casting made her the first openly lesbian superhero lead in television history. She departed the show after its first season in 2020 under disputed circumstances. Rose cited a stunt injury requiring emergency spinal surgery and an allergy to latex used in the Batwoman costume.
Warner Bros. Television stated she was not rehired due to complaints about workplace behavior.
In 2021, Rose made a series of allegations on Instagram about unsafe working conditions on the Batwoman set, naming a Warner Bros. executive, a co-star, and others. Those claims were denied.
Perry’s representative’s reference to Rose having a “well-documented history of making serious public allegations” is a reference to that pattern.
Rose has also previously spoken publicly about being sexually abused as a child, has diagnosed complex PTSD and clinical depression, and has attempted suicide multiple times.
She has been open about these experiences across years of public life. Her most recent film work is Dirty Angels, an action thriller opposite Eva Green.
The History Of Rose and Perry Tension
This is not the first time Rose has publicly positioned herself in opposition to Perry.
In 2017, when Perry released “Swish Swish,” widely interpreted as targeting Taylor Swift, who is a close friend of Rose’s, Rose went after Perry on Twitter.
She criticized Perry’s lyrics, activism, and career broadly, writing about the need for bullies to be held accountable. Perry did not respond publicly at the time.
Rose referenced that history in her Sunday posts, writing that she had told people Perry was not a good person and had been attacked for it.
She also referenced “her silly song,” a reference to the 2017 era, and suggested there was material from that period she had not yet disclosed. “There is so much more that happened in the years leading up to her silly song she won’t want me discussing.”
Where Do Things Currently Stand?
As of publication, Katy Perry has not spoken personally. Her representative denies everything.
Ruby Rose has filed a police report she acknowledges is likely past statutory limits. No investigation has been confirmed by authorities.
Rose says the incident was witnessed by multiple people and that she has photographic documentation.
Whether the allegation results in any legal or formal process remains unknown.
What is not unknown is that Rose carried this for nearly 20 years, told it as a joke when she did reference it, and chose a Katy Perry comment about YouTube ads as the moment she finally stopped softening it.
