Ruby Rose's sexual assault allegations against Katy Perry are back in the headlines, this time courtesy of Fox's Special Forces: World's Toughest Test. A new season five teaser, released exclusively to TMZ, shows co-star Oliver Hudson telling fellow contestants Rose has 'something going on in the news'. The clip arrives as Victoria Police detectives continue to work on the case.
Victoria Police detectives from the Sexual Offences and Child Abuse Investigation Team have been sitting on this exact allegation since April, and there is still no outcome in sight. The teaser leans into the controversy without ever naming Perry outright, giving Fox the drama while keeping the specifics carefully thin.
Why Fox Risked Featuring Ruby Rose's Katy Perry Allegations
Rose claims Perry sexually assaulted her at a Melbourne nightclub back in 2010. She first went public on Threads, in a now-deleted run of posts that stunned fans, before heading straight to a police station to file a formal report.
Perry's representatives hit back hard, branding the claims 'categorically false' and 'dangerous, reckless lies', language pointed enough that saying her name outright on national television could invite a defamation fight nobody at Fox wants.
Ruby Rose's 'Special Forces' Costars Talked About Katy Perry Allegations On Set https://t.co/C1vDIMrH8Y
— TMZ (@TMZ) September 22, 2026
So the network found a loophole. David Charvet calls Rose 'very cool' the second she is out of earshot. Hudson brings up 'the headlines' straight after. Neither man says Katy Perry's name once, but every viewer watching already knows exactly who they mean. The show references a real, unresolved allegation without ever putting the claim in anyone's mouth on camera.
This fits the format. Special Forces has always used interrogation-style confessionals to dig up contestants' rawest moments and sell them as entertainment. Slotting a live police investigation into that same formula pushes the format into territory it has not explored before and raises an uncomfortable question about how much real-world consequence a reality show is willing to gamble on for a strong trailer.
Social Media Reacts to Special Forces' Katy Perry Name-Drop
Reaction online split almost straight away. Some viewers criticised Fox directly, arguing an active police case should not be used as promotional content, and asking why an ongoing investigation was being teased like a plot twist.
Others disagreed, pointing out that Rose herself had put the story in the public eye back in April, so it was always likely that her co-stars would discuss it once cameras were rolling.
The facts of the case have not actually changed since spring. Perry has not been charged. The investigation remains open. Neither side's account has been tested in court. Fox is still building a marketing moment around a story that, officially, is exactly where it was months ago, and doing it through a co-star's passing comment rather than a claim the network would have to stand behind.
Fox has not explained why the reference remained in the trailer, and representatives for Rose and Perry have not commented on the case since it aired. Has reality TV decided an unresolved police investigation is now just another way to sell a premiere? Whatever happens on screen, the case itself will not be settled by a reality show.
Special Forces: World's Toughest Test premiered on Fox on Thursday, 24 September.
