Rita Ora passionately locks lips with Cardi B in the raunchy video for ‘Girls’.
The 27-year-old singer teamed up with Cardi, Bebe Rexha and Charli XCX on the track – which features the lines, "Sometimes I just wanna kiss girls, girls, girls" and "I’m open-minded … I’m 50/50, and I’m never gonna hide it" – and hailed it her "bisexual anthem".
So it’s no surprise that the sizzling promo, which is just under four minutes long, sees the ‘Bodak Yellow’ rapper appear in hologram form touching up Rita’s neck, before leaning in for the seductive smooch.
The video also shows Bebe go tongue-to-tongue with herself in a mirror and lead singer Rita lay in a forest-setting with a host of lookalikes.
Talking about her intentions with the song, Rita said: "It really represents freedom and the chance to be what you want to be – and there being no judgment and just living your life as you want to live it. That’s what this song represents to me every time I hear it.
"It was really inspired by one of my favourite songs: ‘I Kissed a Girl’ by Katy Perry. That was the first song anyone heard of Katy Perry’s, and it was just such a statement; it was so fun. I wanted to do something that was in that lane."
Asked if she’d like for it to be a bisexual anthem, she added: "Definitely. I definitely want it to feel like it’s an anthem to somebody. I want there to be a sense of freedom for anyone who listens to it. So I’ll take it!"
The raunchy single has courted controversy and was accused of trivialising bisexuality by singer Hayley Kiyoko.
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."
However, many have come to the defence of Rita, including collaborator Charli and her pal Cara Delevingne.
Rita Ora locks lips with Cardi B in Girls music video
