Hayley Kiyoko says Rita Ora’s new single ‘Girls’ "does more harm than good for the LGBTQ+ community".
The 27-year-old singer has taken aim at Rita’s new track, which also features Cardi B, Bebe Rexha and Charli XCX, arguing that the single exploits bisexuality.
She wrote on Instagram: "Every so often there come certain songs with messaging that is just downright tone-deaf, which does more harm than good for the LGBTQ+ community. A song like this just fuels the male gaze while marginalising the idea of women loving women."
In particular, Hayley took issue with the song’s chorus, which reads: "Sometimes, I just wanna kiss girls/Red wine, I just wanna kiss girls."
The singer – who describes herself as a gay woman – continued: "I don’t need to drink wine to kiss girls; I’ve loved women my entire life. This type of message is dangerous because it completely belittles and invalidates the very pure feelings of an entire community."
Meanwhile, Rita recently claimed she wants the song to become a bisexual anthem.
However, during the same interview, she was more unclear about her own sexuality and whether she considers herself to be bisexual.
Rita – who has dated the likes of Calvin Harris and Rob Kardashian during her time in the spotlight – explained: "If people look at it like that, it’s very narrow-minded and I don’t think that’s what this record is. I don’t think that that even matters."
Hayley Kiyoko accuses Rita Ora of exploiting bisexuality
