Twitter has its upsides, whether it's bringing us news from around the world, or giving us plenty of insight and humour to help distract us from the ongoing garbage fire that is 2018, but it definitely has some bad qualities. There are a plethora of accounts out there spouting hate speech and organising online abuse in large groups, including the likes of neo-nazis and white supremacists - all without any proper moderation or report system.
This, in part, lets a lot of users out there act however they want, safely under the guise of anonymity. So even over minor issues, such as the casting of a comic book character in a live-action adaptation, they can explode into a torrent of hateful messages. Ruby Rose, known for her roles in Orange Is The New Black and John Wick: Chapter 2, was recently announced to be playing a superhero for one of DC's latest television projects, but the response she received was mixed.
Most fans were extremely happy to see her take on the role of Batwoman, the crimefighter first introduced to the comics in 2006. In tandem with her debut, it was also revealed that she was a lesbian - a trait that's unfortunately extremely rare in the medium. Rose, who herself came out as gay at the age of 12, was happy to take on the role.
Speaking on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, she said:
“I feel like the reason I get so emotional, growing up watching TV, I never saw somebody on TV that I could identify with, let alone a superhero.
“I have always had this saying — I mean, not me, Oscar Wilde — which is be yourself because everyone else is taken. So I always live by that motto, and the second motto when I came into the industry was be the person that you needed when you were younger. I feel like one motto led to another.”
However, while there are plenty who were delighted to see the character make it to the screen, especially played by an actress like Rose, there were some out there that were angered by it. Much of the response was not only insulting, but a little confused. Many criticised the idea that Batwoman was being made into a lesbian character - despite the fact that's the way she has been all along.
On top of this, some criticised the casting as shameful, claiming that they should have cast a lesbian actress to play a lesbian character... clearly not realising that Ruby is openly gay. As Syfy notes, Rose's final tweet addressed this particular comment, before she chose to delete her account entirely. She wrote:
“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. 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? I didn’t change."
This isn't exactly the first time this has happened this year, Star Wars actress Kelly Marie Tran deleted her social media after the horrendous online abuse she received from so-called 'fans' of the series. Daisy Ridley, Ariel Winter, Millie Bobby Brown and Anna Diop have all faced similar online harassment in 2018, leading to their departure from social media.
Rose still has an Instagram account open, but has limited commenting to people she follows. Batwoman is still set to debut in December, appearing during The CW’s annual crossover event, which this year will include episodes of The Flash, Arrow and Supergirl.
