On Sunday, Australian actor Ruby Rose accused pop star Katy Perry of sexually assaulting her over a decade ago, leading to an investigation by the police in the state of Victoria. Perry's representative swiftly dismissed the claims as "categorically false." In Victoria, there is no statute of limitations on reporting a sexual offense.
A representative from Victoria Police confirmed to Yahoo via email that the "Melbourne Sexual Offences and Child Abuse Investigation Team" is investigating a historical sexual assault that occurred in Melbourne in 2010. The incident reportedly took place at a licensed premises in Melbourne's central business district. As the investigation is ongoing, the police declined to comment further.
Rose, 40, is best known for her roles in Netflix's "Orange is the New Black," The CW's "Batwoman," and the movie "John Wick: Chapter 2." She first made the allegations 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.
In her comments, Rose claimed that Perry sexually assaulted her at a nightclub in Melbourne. She responded to a user who asked about what happened, writing: "She didn't kiss me. She saw me 'resting' on my best friend's 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 also responded to another user, saying she kept it a secret because Perry had agreed to help her get her U.S. visa. In another deleted post, she 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 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.
Perry's team released a statement denying the allegations on April 13. "The allegations being circulated on social media by Ruby Rose about Katy Perry are not only categorically false; they are dangerous and 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."
