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Rita Ora’s Graham Norton joke branded ‘gay slur’ in newspaper

By Ryan Love

Rita Ora reportedly annoyed some members of the The Graham Norton Show audience with a joke about the chat show host.

The singer – and new X Factor judge was a guest on last night’s episode of the BBC One series, appearing alongside Lewis Hamilton, Ewan McGregor and Jack Whitehall.

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Making light of being the only female on the sofa, Ora joked: “How lucky am I on a couch full of fellas… and Graham!”

The moment received a mixed reaction from the audience, while the ‘Poison’ singer quickly added: “I’m joking!”

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However, the Daily Star today reported that the “gay slur” had upset some of those watching the recording.

One audience member told the paper: “My sister and I couldn’t believe it when she said it and there were quite a few mutters in the audience.”

A show source dismissed any suggestions of Graham being offended, telling Metro: “Rita said it as a joke and that is exactly how Graham and the audience took it.”

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