Ruby Rose reflects on coming out aged 12: ‘If I realised how homophobic people are, I might not have’
Ruby Rose attends the Australians In Film Awards at InterContinental Los Angeles Century City on 23 October 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Phillip Faraone/WireImage)
Ruby Rose has opened up about coming out aged 12 and being “crucified” by homophobic bullies.
The former Batwoman star was one of five cover stars for GLAMOUR‘s digital Pride issue alongside Drag Race star Gottmik. Rose recalled what it was like for her to come out as lesbian when she was 12. She told GLAMOUR that she “might not have come out so young” if she realised how people would react to her sexuality.
“I didn’t know how to live without being open and honest about my identity, but I think I was also very young and maybe if I was a little bit older and I realised how homophobic people are, I might not have come out so young,” Rose said.
“I got bullied for it. I got tormented. I felt like I got crucified at school, and it was tough being the only gay person in that school.”
But Ruby Rose admitted that it was good that some people thought her sexuality wasn’t “taken as seriously” at the time. She explained that, by the time “everyone realised what” “being gay meant”, they had “gotten used to the fact” that being queer was an integral part of her identity.
Rose added that representation of LGBT+ identities in television was crucial to her growing up in Australia. She told GLAMOUR that The L Word came out when she was “getting ready to graduate” and “suddenly everyone at school was gay”.
“Because before The L Word, I didn’t know there was anyone else that felt like me and looked like me and had the same feelings,” Rose said. “It made life liveable for me.”
Ruby Rose previously spoken about the horrific bullying and abuse that she received after coming out at such a young age. She told The Guardian in March that she was verbally and physically abused and socially excluded by her classmates. The Orange Is the New Black shared that some classmates wrote “we hate Ruby” on toilet walls while others accused her of staring at them in changing rooms.
Rose said it got so bad that she was “hospitalised” and was “out of school for about five days” after being violently attacked by homophobic bullies. She described how a group hit her in the head with metal chairs and threw things at her “at a cafe” in front of “about 50 people”.
“They punched me. I ended up with lacerations, big bruises, concussion and also… just how much that horrifies your soul, your spirit,” Rose said. “I’d been bullied a lot, but not to this degree where I was worried for my life.”
