Social media went crazy in 2021 after photos surfaced of pop star Rita Ora and her husband Taika Waititi getting a little too cozy with actress Tessa Thompson. Two years later, the Kosovo-born, British-raised superstar is putting rumors to rest and opening up about the now-infamous pictures.
In the photo, Ora’s husband is seen sandwiched between Ora and Thompson while they both appear to be kissing him on the cheek. Another photo shows him kissing his then-girlfriend while they are both seated, then another photo shows him bending over to kiss Thompson while she is seated. The last of the series of photos show Ora and the Thor star kissing each other.
In a recent interview with British GQ, Ora explained, “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.”
She continued: “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 [photo] was just a bunch of friends having a good time. They [Taika and Tessa] had a crazy schedule and everyone was letting loose. I love that. Each to their own.”
She added that the attention wasn’t all negative, though. Swarms of LGBTQIA+ fans expressed that they were happy same-sex relations were being normalized publicly. “That made me really happy. You don’t know who it’s touching,” she concluded.
