Rita Ora slams media treatment of late friend Caroline Flack as 'disgusting'

Rita Ora has called the media treatment of her late friend Caroline Flack "disgusting" as she talked about the "stress and anxiety" caused by public scrutiny of her private life.

The How We Do singer is the latest celebrity to be interviewed by Louis Theroux for his BBC Two series and in their chat, the documentary maker asked her about the media interest in her love life.

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Her current partner Taika Waititi, who she reportedly married recently, appears in the episode and Theroux asked her how she felt about the fascination with who she is dating.

Ora, 32, said: "We are women, men don't get asked, 'oh, you've had 100 boyfriends or girlfriends.' Sometimes they do, but the majority of the time they don't. It comes with the territory, it's part of the world we're in."

She appeared to refer to late TV presenter Flack, who took her own life in 2020, as she continued: "I count myself pretty lucky compared with some stories that have been really intense for some, that aren't even here with us today, for specific reasons like that, and some of them were my friends.

"The press can be really gruelling, so I think things need to change."

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Theroux asked her: "You were close with Caroline Flack, weren't you?"

Ora looked emotional as she answered: "Yeah, and I think it's really disgusting at times, and it's really sad.

"I get emotional because it's hard to relate if you're not in that position. No one is asking people to understand, 'oh, I'm famous, please understand me.'

"I know it's very hard to sympathise, but I try not to think about it too much because it puts me in a sense of stress and anxiety."

In the episode, Ora also speaks about her rumoured spat with Rihanna over their time at Roc Nation, but says that she has no problem with the star.

She says: "I can’t speak for other people but I think publicly they always put women against each other. I’ve been nothing but a fan and respectful of her and I always will be."

Louis Theroux Interviews Rita Ora airs tonight at 9.30pm on BBC Two.

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