Rita Ora told a journalist she was spending her birthday with her parents weeks before her illicit lockdown party
- Rita Ora told The Times of London that she would be spending a quiet birthday with her parents weeks before she was caught hosting an illicit birthday party in London.
- "It's going to literally be just my parents and me," she told the reporter. "I'm actually looking forward to it. To just hanging out with my parents. Is that weird?"
- Two weeks after the interview, Ora issued a public apology and paid a fine for breaking England's lockdown rules after The Sun newspaper published photos of the singer and numerous guests at a restaurant in West London.
Rita Ora said she would be having a quiet 30th birthday weeks before she was caught breaking England's lockdown rules with an alleged 30-person party.
In an interview with The Times of London reporter Polly Vernon - which was conducted in early November - but was published this Sunday, Ora she would be delaying all party plans to have a quiet evening with her parents.
"It's going to literally be just my parents and me," she said. "I'm actually looking forward to it. To just hanging out with my parents. Is that weird?"
She added: "My reputation's going to go down the drain but [my parents are] my favorite people to hang out with."
However, just weeks later, the singer was forced to issue a public apology and pay a £10,000 ($13,359) fine after The Sun published images showing Ora and friends - including supermodel Cara Delevingne - attending the party at a West London restaurant.
The Sun reported that around 30 people were in attendance, though Vernon wrote that Ora's PRs assured her it was much less.
London's lockdown restrictions, which ended four days after the party was held, made it illegal to meet with more than one person from outside your household. The images also show two police officers looking through the windows of the restaurant and attempting to enter.
In a statement after the story broke, Ora issued an apology saying that she is "deeply sorry for breaking the rules," but a few days later she published another apology after it was uncovered that the 30-year-old singer should have been self-isolating at the time.
The Daily Mail first reported that Ora had flown to Egypt in a private jet on November 21 to perform at a five-star hotel in Cairo. She returned to the UK the next day and was required, in line with England's quarantine rules, to self-isolate for 14 days. But she was, of course, seen at the party one week later.
"Upon my return to Britain, I should have followed government advice and isolated myself for the required period," she said. "As you know, I didn't follow government advice, and I apologize again, unreservedly."
Ora also said that she would be donating all profits from the performance to charity.
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