Perry’s rep denied the claims, calling them “categorically false.” Warning: This story contains descriptions of alleged sexual assault.
Police in Australia say they have opened an investigation into allegations made by actress Ruby Rose, who earlier this week accused pop star Katy Perry of sexually assaulting her in a Melbourne nightclub more than a decade ago.
In the Australian state of Victoria, where the alleged assault took place, there is no statute of limitations on reporting a sexual offense.
“Melbourne Sexual Offences and Child Abuse Investigation Team detectives are investigating a historical sexual assault that occurred in Melbourne in 2010,” a Victoria Police representative confirmed to Yahoo via email. “Police have been told the incident occurred at a licensed premises in Melbourne’s [central business district]. As the investigation remains ongoing, it would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage.”
Rose, 40, is best known for her acting in Netflix’s Orange is the New Black, The CW’s Batwoman and in the movie John Wick: Chapter 2.
What are the allegations?
She first made the accusations publicly on April 12 in a series of now-deleted replies to a Threads post highlighting Perry’s response to Justin Bieber’s Coachella set over the weekend.
Rose claimed in the comments: “Katy Perry sexual [sic] assaulted me at spice market nightclub in Melbourne. Who gives a shit what she thinks.”
She responded to one user, who asked about what happened, writing: “She didn’t kiss me. She saw me ‘resting’ on my best friends lap to avoid her and bent down, pulled her underwear to the side and rubbed her disgusting vagina on my face until my eyes snapped open and I projectile vomited on her.”
Rose responded to another user saying she kept it a secret because Perry had agreed to help Rose get her U.S. visa.
In another deleted post, Rose wrote, “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.”
On Monday, the actress said that she would contact the police about the alleged incident. She followed up on Tuesday, posting that she “finalized all of my reports” and that she could no longer speak publicly about the case.
What was Perry’s response?
Perry’s team denied the allegations in a statement released to the media on April 13.
“The allegations being circulated on social media by Ruby Rose about Katy Perry are not only categorically false, they are dangerous reckless lies,” the statement read. “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.”
