Rita Ora understands the backlash she faced after releasing ‘bi-anthem’ ‘Girls’
She said the song was based on her own romantic experiences with both men and women
By Steve Brown
Words: Steve Brown
Rita Ora has spoken out about backlash she faced after releasing her ‘bi-anthem’ ‘Girls’.
The ‘Let Me Love You’ singer, 28, revealed in May that she had had romantic relationships with both men and women after her track ‘Girls’ sparked a backlash over what some saw as a straight artist profiting off the LGBT experience.
Ora later revealed that the song, which featured Charli XCX, Bebe Rexha and Cardi B, was based on her own romantic experiences with people of both genders, and was “an accurate account of a very real and honest experience” in her life.
Now, while appearing on the What’s The Tee podcast, the singer opened up about the backlash she faced following the release of the single and said she has “loved women” her entire life.
She said: “I don’t need to drink wine to kiss girls; I’ve loved women my entire life.
“This type of message is dangerous because it completely belittles and invalidates the very pure feelings of an entire community.
“I guess some girls in the industry didn’t find it supportive. But I definitely didn’t mean one bad intention.
“The fact I survived that made me so happy, because it was pretty dark. It’s like making a baby, putting it out in the world then it getting brutally attacked.”
The singer also revealed she understands the backlash she faced because no one had known about her ‘very experimental’ past.
She continued: “But when I came out, I think people looked at it, because they didn’t know about my experience, like I was using the culture – which was understandable.
“I never looked at it like that because I knew I’d experienced it. But I forgot that nobody else knew that.”
Watch the video to ‘Girls’ below: