Katy Perry, Ruby Rose Feud Explained: Why Is Orange Is The New Black Star Speaking Out Against Firework Singer Now?

Katy Perry and Ruby Rose are at the centre of a fresh feud in Los Angeles this week after Rose alleged on social media on Sunday, 12 April, that Perry sexually assaulted her in a Melbourne nightclub nearly 20 years ago. A representative for the singer has since publicly denied the claims, calling them 'categorically false' and 'dangerous, reckless lies.'

The latest clash between the Orange Is the New Black star and the Firework singer revives a long‑simmering tension that first spilled into public view in 2017, when Rose criticised Perry's single Swish Swish during a Twitter spat. Until now, that row had largely faded into the background of both women's careers. The new allegation, reported by People and based on Rose's posts on Meta's Threads platform, moves their feud from pop culture sniping into far more serious territory. Rose's account has not been tested in court, and Perry has strongly rejected it.

Katy Perry, Ruby Rose Feud Reignites With Nightclub Allegation

The renewed feud erupted when Rose, now 40, replied to a Threads post sharing a Complex article about Perry reacting to Justin Bieber's Coachella performance. In the comments, Rose wrote: 'Katy Perry sexual assaulted me at spice market nightclub in Melbourne. Who gives a s--- what she thinks.'

She later added more detail, saying she had been 'only in my early 20s' at the time and that 'It has taken almost 2 decades to say this publicly.' In another post, Rose reflected on why she had not spoken sooner, writing that 'it just shows how much of an impact trauma and sexual assault takes.'

Rose also said that, in her view, speaking about violence and sexual abuse between women can be especially difficult. She wrote that opening up about 'W on W [women-on-women] violence and sexual abuse' had felt '100 times harder' than speaking about male predators, 'at least for me.'

Rose then alleged that Perry, now 41, approached her while she was 'resting' on a friend's lap to avoid contact. In a graphic description, she claimed Perry 'bent down, pulled her underwear to the side and rubbed her disgusting vagina on my face until my eyes snapped open and I projectile vomitted on her.' The spelling errors are in the original posts.

People reported that Rose did not indicate she had filed, or planned to file, a police complaint over the alleged incident. When one Threads user suggested she was speaking out now because of her past feud with Perry, Rose pushed back, saying she was 'not interested in filing a report over this.'

She insisted, however, that she stood by her account. Rose wrote that Perry 'is more than welcome to sue me,' adding that she claimed to have photographs and that the incident had happened in public in front of multiple witnesses.

Rose also suggested there was a longer and more complicated history between them than the public has seen. 'Plus there is so much more that happened in the years leading up to her silly song she won't want me discussing. The psychological manipulation was strong with that one,' she wrote, without offering specific examples in the posts quoted by People.

In another claim, Rose said Perry 'wrote and signed the letters of recommendation for my US visa application, in the 2010s,' suggesting they once had some degree of personal or professional closeness. That detail has not been independently corroborated beyond Rose's own posts.

Denial From Katy Perry's Camp As Feud Spills Into Public View

Within 24 hours of the claims gaining traction online, Perry's camp moved to reject them forcefully. In a statement shared with People on Monday, 13 April, a representative for the singer said: 'The allegations being circulated on social media by Ruby Rose about Katy Perry are not only categorically false, they are dangerous, reckless lies.'

The spokesperson went further, questioning Rose's broader credibility and pointing to her posting history. '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,' the statement continued.

People did not report responses from the other individuals referenced in that statement, so that characterisation remains Perry's side of the dispute rather than an established fact. Rose, who rose to international prominence in Orange Is the New Black and later appeared in John Wick: Chapter 2, framed her decision to speak now as a painful but necessary step.

'Though I am so grateful to have made it long enough to find my voice,' she wrote, 'it just shows how much of an impact trauma and sexual assault takes.' She has not, at least in the comments relayed by People, publicly produced the photographs she says exist, nor identified the 'multiple people' she claims witnessed the alleged assault.

With no legal filing, no witnesses quoted on the record and both accounts being advanced through social media posts and representatives, there is currently no independent public way to verify what happened in that Melbourne nightclub nearly two decades ago. What is clear is that an old celebrity feud has been thrust back into the spotlight, this time under far more serious circumstances.