Rita Ora officially comes out
Rita Ora has officially come out as bisexual after facing backlash for her new single Girls.
The British singer-songwriter has faced criticism for the song, with many comparing to the dated Katy Perry’s I Kissed A Girl. Some have questioned why she has engaged in bisexual stereotypes in the lyrics.
But now she has apologized.
Rita Ora says sorry, officially comes out
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Writing on Twitter, she posted:
‘Hello everyone reading this. Girls was written to represent my truth and is an accurate account of a very real and honest experience in my life.
‘I have had romantic relationships with women and men throughout my life and this is my personal journey.
‘I am sorry how I expressed myself in my song has hurt anyone. I would never intentionally cause harm to other LGBTQ+ people or anyone.
‘Looking forward, I hope that continuing to express myself through my art will empower my fans to feel as proud of themselves as I’m learning to feel about who I am. I’m ever thankful to my fans for teaching me to love myself no matter what. I have strived to be a contributor to the LGBTQ+ community throughout my entire career and always will be. ‘
Cardi B, Charli XCX, and Bebe Rexha are also on the song with Ora.
Kiyoko, whose album Expectations dropped earlier this year, made a statement about the new song on Twitter.
Real talk 🌈 pic.twitter.com/9EbZd5dYZq
— Hayley Kiyoko (@HayleyKiyoko) May 11, 2018
Real talk
Here’s Kiyoko’s statement in full:
It’s important for us artists to move the cultural needle forward, not backwards. There is a new song that came out today featuring a handful of well-known pop artists that has me overwhelmed with thoughts. I literally have a knot in my stomach right now.
To be clear, I fully support other artists who freely express themselves and applaud male and female artists who are opening up more and more about their sexual identities.
But every so often there comes certain songs with messaging that is downright tone-deaf, which does more harm than good for the LGBTQ+ community. A song like this just fuels the male gaze while marginalizing the idea of women loving women.
I know this wasn’t the intention of the artists on the song, but it’s the lack of consideration behind these lyrics that really get me. 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 feel I have a responsibility to protect that whenever possible. We can and should do better.
