Singer Rita Ora has said that her controversial 30th birthday party, which she threw in London while the UK was still in a strict lockdown in November 2020, changed her life for the better.
The now-34-year-old singer celebrated at Casa Cruz restaurant in Notting Hill alongside celebrity guests including Cara and Poppy Delevingne, and TOWIE star Vas Morgan.
She should have been isolating following a trip to Egypt.
Ora was heavily criticised for the flagrant breach of government guidance at the time, which stipulated that indoor gatherings of more than six people were banned for everyone in the country.
The restaurant’s general manager, Scottie Bhattarai, said in court there were between 15 and 20 people at the party and that he’d accepted £5,000 from Ora’s team for use of the premises because “he was greedy”.
Speaking to The Sun, Ora said the incident caused her to take a long look at her behaviour.
“I just really was living every day like it was my last, with no care about what was going to happen the next day,” she said, adding she regretted not being “a bit more considerate” of herself and others.
Ora explained she “never really understood” the responsibility she had as a public figure to behave ethically. “I think a lot of people were looking up at me, looking for me to give them a lot of answers, and I didn’t mentally digest that,” she said.
“But it’s hard for me too. I think for anyone in my position to wake up one day and you’re like, ‘Oh, wow, I have all these people that are depending on me to really give them inspiration’. I’m also human.
“But now I feel like it’s something that I take pride in.”
Per The Sun, Ora sees the backlash to her lockdown party as the catalyst for her move towards a more mindful lifestyle and greater consideration of others.
The “Black Widow” hitmaker apologised for flouting lockdown rules at the time, saying the event was a “spur of the moment decision” she was “deeply sorry” for.
“This was a serious and inexcusable error of judgement. Given the restrictions, I realise how irresponsible these actions were and I take full responsibility,” she said.
