Australian police are investigating sexual assault allegations made by actor Ruby Rose against Katy Perry earlier this week.
On Sunday, the Batwoman star detailed an alleged, approximately 20-year-old incident that occurred in Melbourne involving the singer on Threads. The series of now-deleted posts, which ultimately accused Perry of rubbing her genitalia on Rose’s face, began with the actor responding to a thread from Complex about Justin Bieber’s performance at Coachella. Referring to Perry’s comments about the set, Rose wrote, “Katy Perry sexual [sic] assaulted me at spice market nightclub in Melbourne. Who gives a shit what she thinks.”
After revealing further details, including that she kept the incident a secret because Perry helped her get a U.S. visa, Rose told Threads users Monday morning that she had gone to the police station to report multiple incidents — including, presumably, the one involving the singer and two that occurred when she was a child.
On Wednesday morning, a Victoria police spokesperson told Australian news outlets that the Melbourne Sexual Offences and Child Abuse Investigation Team (SOCIT) was investigating reports of “a historical sexual assault that occurred in Melbourne in 2010” in response to queries about Rose’s claims.
“Police have been told the incident occurred at a licensed premises in Melbourne’s CBD,” the spokesperson told Australian outlet 7News, referring to the neighborhood that houses the now-shuttered Spice Market nightclub. “As the investigation remains ongoing, it would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage.”
In 2010, Perry and Rose grabbed headlines for crashing a high school formal at Melbourne’s Grand Hyatt, the property where the nightclub was located. Some reports of the incident, which involved the singer performing her hit “California Gurls” for the students and teachers, also revealed that the two were later seen at Spice Market and the city’s Boutique nightclub.
Rose has not publicly responded to confirmation of the investigation. Her final update on the situation came Tuesday via her Threads account: “As of this afternoon, I have finalized all of my reports. This means I am no longer able to comment, repost, or talk publicly about any of those cases, or the individuals involved,” wrote the actor, who also starred in Netflix’s Orange Is the New Black and the John Wick franchise.
“It’s going to look like I am ignoring everything from supportive messages, to other people’s experiences, but I’m not,” she added. “This is a standard request from the police and in many ways, quite the relief.”
A representative for Perry denied the accusations in a Monday statement to Out, calling them “categorically false” and “dangerous, reckless lies.”
