British singer-songwriter Rita Ora has
responded to the criticism surrounding her coming out as bisexual.
On the track “Girls.” Ora, 27,
sings, “I ain't one-sided, I'm open-minded. I'm 50-50 and I'm
never gonna hide it.”
The song's lyrics were criticized by
several out artists, including Hayley Kiyoko, who said that she
doesn't “need to drink wine to kiss girls.” Kehlani said that
the song had “harmful lyrics.”
Ora apologized in a post, and added
that she has had previous relationships with men and women.
In an interview with Stylist,
Ora called the incident a “really sensitive subject” for her.
“It was my story and I knew it was
going to be a bit of a shock for people because I'd never spoken
about it in public before,” Ora
said.
“I don't think I would be doing this
today if it wasn't for the LGBTQ community and I would do anything
for them as well as all my fans.”
“This was a moment in time when I
wanted to give confidence to girls who are trapped and feel like they
can't tell their parents that they are gay. I wanted to give people
that bit of hope to get through it. It was my story and my truth,”
she added.
Ora denied she was “scared” of
coming out. “I waited for a reason, because none of the times
before felt right. I'm an adult, I felt like this was something I
needed to do to move forward,” she said.
“I'm very proud of who I am and my
journey to get here – everybody has to go through these things to
learn about themselves,” she added.
Phoenix, which includes the
track “Girls,” arrives today, November 23.