Rita Ora has come under serious scrutiny this week as her fans are questioning her relationship status.
She’s broken her silence on the rumors that she’s in a throuple and it’s got people talking.
The British singer has forever been in and out of the headlines for her highly-publicized relationship dramas and controversial actions.
She’s had some public relationships.
Old flame, A$AP Rocky, publicly blasted Rita in his track, “Better Things.”
And TMZ reported that DJ Calvin Harris called it quits with Rita.
After she was seen getting “touchy” with Justin Bieber.
Her “Girls” song was also widely critiqued.
The song featured lyrics about being “open-minded” and “50-50” when it comes to sexuality, which many people from the LGBTQ community found to be “dangerous” and “tone-deaf.”
And there’s another reason Ora is a controversial figure.
But, this time, it is surrounding a new issue entirely.
She’s been accused of blackfishing in the past.
We know what you’re all thinking… What exactly is blackfishing?
CNN explains: “The term has been increasingly in the news to describe behavior by White entertainers who appear to be imitating the appearance of Black people.”
It usually happens on social media, when influencers use makeup, hair products, and in some cases, surgery to drastically change the appearance of their ethnicity.
It’s been a hot topic for a few years now.
When a Twitter thread calling on people to expose “all of the white girls cosplaying as black women on Instagram” went viral.
It was brutal.
And thousands of white women “blackfishing” on Instagram were publicly named and shamed.
It has its roots in racism.
Wherein elements of a minority culture are adopted by those in a more dominant, less discriminated culture without crediting the origin.
And Rita Ora was one of the celebs under scrutiny.
The singer was born to Albanian parents and was raised in London… But she has been known to adopt black aesthetics in the past.
And that has had one consequence …
That some people are confused as to whether she is mixed race or not.
But she has owned up to not being black in the past…
Speaking with Wendy Williams a couple of years ago, who admitted to thinking she was mixed race, Rita said she “might as well be,” but is definitely Albanian.
She’s sported some culturally insensitive hairstyles before.
Such as box braids and afros.
One Twitter user shared a series of photos of the singer with her hair in the said styles, along with a picture of her very European mother, writing:
“Finding out Rita Ora isn’t black at all and both of her parents are white Albanians is so trippy. the girl’s BEEN blackfishing.”
And people responded by expressing their shock over Rita’s true ethnicity.
One Twitter user shared the singer’s school photos, saying: “This is what she looked like when she was young. She’s always been an ethnic Albanian girl with a tan and never changed her features or anything. She’s always been a loud and proud Albanian. The cultural appropriation of braids is not ok but it doesn’t make her black.”
But this week, Ora has been facing controversy for a different reason.
Her relationship status!
“Is anyone else super disappointed by this news?” asked one fan.
“I guess this is her business and no one else’s,” added another.
She’s finally confronted rumors that she and her partner, director Taika Waititi, were in a throuple with model Tessa Thompson.
The three hit headlines in 2021 when the were papped looking suspiciously cozy.
Ora kept quiet for years, but this week she’s told GQ the unedited truth.
“I just chose to not acknowledge that because it’s ridiculous. I think when some things are so absurd, and it’s hard to fathom any sense of it, you just have to ignore it.
“I’ve taken that approach for a lot of things, because you don’t want to put energy towards something that’s nonexistent.
“It’s like trying to explain something that didn’t happen means you’re feeding into nothing.
“Have you ever been in a situation where you’ve had a lot of drinks and everyone’s your best friend?
“And then the next day you’re like, ‘I was talking to this person in the smoking area for four hours and I’ve got no idea who they are?’
“Literally – that was just a bunch of friends having a good time.
“They had a crazy schedule and everyone was letting loose. I love that. Each to their own.
However, there were some benfits to the rumors!
“The good news though, is that when I was on Twitter talking to my fans, all of my incredible LGBTQIA+ fanbases were like, actually – whether this is true or not – I’m so inspired that this is being normalized publicly.
“That made me really happy. You don’t know who it’s touching,” Ora concluded.
What do you think about the throuple rumors?