Cara Delevingne has defended Rita Ora following the recent controversy over her new single ‘Girls’.
The track, which also features Cardi B, Charli XCX, and Bebe Rexha, was released earlier this month (May 11), with many criticising its lyrics, which include the lines “Sometimes, I just wanna kiss girls, girls, girls/Red wine, I just wanna kiss girls, girls, girls”, for being damaging to the LGBTQ+ community.
Pop singer Hayley Kiyoko described the song as “tone-deaf” and “fuel[ling] the male gaze and marginalising the idea of women loving women.” Kehlani, meanwhile, tweeted: “hate to be THAT guy but there were many awkward slurs… certain quotes weren’t progressive”.
Ora later posted a statement to her Twitter page, apologising for any harm or offence. “‘Girls’ was written to represent my truth and is an accurate account of a very real and honest experience in my life,” she wrote, adding: “I have had romantic relationships with women and men throughout my life and this is my personal journey.”
Delevingne, who is openly bisexual, has now offered her support to Ora in a new interview, arguing that the singer “didn’t need to apologise” and that she “did nothing wrong”.
“I mean, I love all of those artists, I think it’s a really great song,” Delevingne told Paper magazine. “And I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it. I think it’s not fair to point a finger. I love Rita. I think she’s a wonderful artist and I always support her in what she does. I don’t think it’s right to say her experience and her words are wrong. If she hadn’t ever felt that way and it wasn’t true then that would be weird. She’s being proud of something and saying it.”
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“She’s being honest about something she may not have been comfortable before,” Delevingne added of Ora’s lyrics. “I don’t think it’s wrong. And people disagreeing with it and being vocal… no one’s ever going to fully back one thing that happens. There’s always going to be a conversation. It’s why you make music, or movies, so people can talk about it. That’s the point.”
Delevingne continued: “She didn’t need to apologise. She did nothing wrong. She should be able to come forth and say, ‘This is the way I did this and I’m going to keep on singing this song because it’s a great song.’ It came from the right intention and that’s what’s most important.”
Cardi B also recently defended the track, tweeting: “We never try to cause harm or had bad intentions with the song… I [thought] the song was a good song”.