Rita Ora is an actress, songwriter and singer that rose to fame in 2012 after she was featured on the DJ Fresh single entitled “Hot Right Now.” Since then, Ora has made her own mark in the industry. In fact, she quickly became known for songs such as ‘Falling to Pieces,” “How We Do,” “Body on Me,” “Only Want You,” “Anywhere,” “Let You Love Me,” “Soul Survivor,” and many others. Aside from this, she also famously portrayed the character of Mia Grey in the ‘Fifty Shades’ film franchise. In addition, Ora also starred in the movies “Southpaw” and “Fast & Furious 6.”
Indeed, Ora is immensely talented. Underneath all that fame and success, however, are some shady things about this celebrity that people seem to ignore. Just check out what we found:
20 Ora Isn’t Her Real Surname
Ora’s real name is Rita Sahatçiu. According to Planet Radio, her father had decided to later add “Ora” so that it was easier for everyone to pronounce. If you must know, Ora means “time.” And in case you were wondering, Ora isn’t the only celebrity who decided to change their name before becoming famous.
19 Her Former Accountant Was Jailed For Fraud
Earlier this year, it was announced that Ora’s former accountant was sentenced to five years and eight months in prison after committing fraud amounting to at least £3.35 million (approximately $4.4 million). According to a report from BBC, Andrew Munday “caused a loss to former X Factor judge Ora's company of nearly £2.4m during the fraud campaign spanning seven years, the court heard.” This essentially cast doubts on Ora’s team’s ability to vet personnel and/or contractors.
18 She’s Crazy About Talcum
Perhaps, one of the most bizarre things about Ora is her reported obsession with talcum powder. Unfortunately, regular use of this may have serious consequences. According to a recent report from Time, medical experts have found a link between exposure to asbestos-tainted talcum powder and a rare and deadly form of cancer known as malignant mesothelioma.
17 She Dropped Out Of Eurovision
Before she became a worldwide music sensation, Rita Ora was a humble talent contestant hoping to make it big just like other competitors. Back when she was 18, she sent out an audition tape to the Eurovision Song Contest where she performed the song “Get Here.” In 2009, however, Ora decided to walk off from the contest. According to Capital FM, Ora later recalled, “I did my song and walked out. No-one knew what to do. They started looking for me, calling my agent.”
16 She Tried To Entice Twitter With A New Song But Failed
In 2014, it seemed that Ora tried to run a promotion on Twitter and embarrassingly failed. As a PR stunt, Ora posted a message on Twitter that said, “Dropping my new song Monday if this get [sic] 100,000 retweets.” According to Closer, however, Ora only managed to get less than 2,000 retweets. She also later claimed that her Twitter was hacked and that she never tried to promote the release of a new song.
15 Rumors Surfaced That She Had An Affair With Jay-Z
After Ora got signed with Jay-Z's label, Roc Nation, rumors surfaced that the singer and the rapper were having an affair. Some even believed that Ora was the woman being referenced in Beyoncé hit song “Lemonade.” However, during an interview with The Sunday Times, Ora denied the rumors saying, “Hey, all I want to say to that is, dude, if I were Becky with the good hair, wouldn’t I actually have to have good hair? Look at it. It’s all weave and extensions.”
14 She Reportedly Cheated On Rob Kardashian...
As you may recall, Ora once dated reality star Rob Kardashian. And unfortunately, the two ended up in a messy breakup later on. Following their split, Kardashian shamed Ora by ranting continuously on Twitter. One of his tweets read, “Disgusted a woman could give up her body to more than 20 dudes in less than a year while trying to start a career.”
13 ... Which Is Why She Faught With Kim Kardashian
As you may have expected, Ora’s tumultuous break-up with Rob Kardashian also caused further backlash. According to reports, the singer also ended up feuding with Rob’s sister, Kim Kardashian West. In 2014, TMZ reported that the reality star even refused to sit near Ora during the VMAs. However, in 2018, the two women appeared to have made up as they were spotted chatting with each other during a Lorraine Schwartz jewelry launch.
12 She Had A Nasty Breakup With Calvin Harris
The split from Rob Kardashian wasn’t the only nasty break-up that Ora had to deal with. In June 2014, Ora and Calvin Harris had broken up with Harris wishing his ex “all the best.” However, according to NME, Harris also prevented the singer from performing any of the songs that they had written together, including “I Will Never Let You Down.” At the same time, Ora was not allowed to use any of their songs on her albums.
11 She Feuded With Dua Lipa Over Repeated Comparisons
In recent months, it has become clear that Ora and fellow singer Dua Lipa are no longer friends. More importantly, their supposed secret feud had gone from bad to worse when both women attended the Met Gala. According to Simon Boyle’s report for The Sun, “I’m told Dua quietly turned on Rita over constant comparisons between the pair — and relations are now so strained they avoided each other at Monday night’s big charity ball.”
