Rita Ora Breaks Pandemic Lockdown to Throw Birthday Party; Cops Called

British singer and songwriter Rita Ora is under fire. The 30-year-old is scrambling to apologize after throwing a birthday party

Rita Ora Singer

British singer and songwriter Rita Ora is under fire. The 30-year-old is scrambling to apologize after throwing a birthday party amid pandemic lockdown restrictions. Police were involved, and the singer is now forced to defend her reckless choice. 

30 for 30

Rita Ora Cops

On Saturday, Ora made the ill-advised decision to celebrate her 30th birthday with a party. The singer invited 30 pals to restaurant Casa Cruz in West London. Casa Cruz is in Notting Hill, and was named after Chilean-born restaurateur Jose Santa Cruz. Casa Cruz‘s director Nicholas Fallows reportedly was unaware of plans for the event. 

DailyMail reports, “In pictures obtained by The Sun, Cara and Poppy Delevingne as well as TOWIE star Vas Morgan, 31, and Rita’s sister Elena, 32, are seen at the venue. During the night, police officers were pictured outside at the eatery as they peered into windows and tried to open one metal door.

While the Met Police confirmed they had been called out on Saturday night to reports of a potential COVID-19 regulations breach in the area. They told MailOnline: Police were called at 21:10hrs on Saturday, 28 November to reports of a potential breach of Covid regulations at a commercial premises in Clarendon Road, W11. Officers attended and carried out enquiries at the scene. They found no record of any offence being committed.’ Rita was also spotted leaving the building while wearing a slinky wrap skirt and black face mask.

A source told the publication: ‘Rita and her sister came to the restaurant first, all dolled up and clearly looking forward to a good night.’There were a number of guests, all dressed up very glamorously, and everyone entered the building through the back, with security watching the front to make sure no one else went in. It went on until the early hours.”

Rita Apologizes

The 30-year-old seems contrite and is looking for a way to turn her poor choice into a learning experience for fans. Per The Guardian, “In a post on Instagram Stories, Ora said: ‘Hello all, I attended a small gathering with some friends to celebrate my 30th birthday. It was a spur of the moment decision made with the misguided view that we were coming out of lockdown and this would be OK.

‘I’m deeply sorry for breaking the rules and in turn understand that this puts people at risk. This was a serious and inexcusable error of judgment. Given the restrictions, I realise how irresponsible these actions were and I take full responsibility.

‘I feel particularly embarrassed knowing first hand how hard people have worked to combat this terrible illness and being fully aware of the sacrifices that people and businesses have made to help keep us all safe. Even though this won’t make it right, I want to sincerely apologise.’”

Although the apology has been generally well-received, fans are still upset with Ora. The UK’s second pandemic lockdown is set to end on December 2nd. If Ora had simply waited a few more days, she wouldn’t have sent such a dangerous message. 

Rita Ora’s Life and Career

Rita Ora Perfroming

The Yugoslavian-born singer is more used to breaking records than breaking rules. Born Rita Sahatçiu, Ora’s parents eventually added the surname, “Ora,” to make it easier to pronounce. Ora was born in Prishtina, Yugoslavia, in what is now Kosovo, to Albanian parents on November 26, 1990. Ora’s parents left Kosovo when she was a baby, due to political unrest and dangers in the wake of the dissolution of Yugoslavia. They then moved to Notting Hill, where Ora and her brother and sister were raised. A singer from a young age, the songwriter graduated from a performing arts school with a wealth of talent and potential under her belt. 

Ora performed at open mic nights, including at her parents’ pub. The upcoming singer did sign up for Eurovision at one point, but withdrew when she felt it wasn’t the right time. Young Ora had cameos in videos with Jay Z and Drake, but her breakout came in the form of DJ Fresh‘s hit solo, “Hot Right Now,” for which Ora performed the female vocals. Ora released her first hit album in 2012, which rapidly climbed the charts. Since then, the 30-year-old has consistently made strong showings in the chart. Ora’s popularity has only grown over the years. Public relation debacles notwithstanding, Ora has a promising future ahead of her if she maintains the impressive momentum she has upheld thus far. 

Stay Home

Rita Ora Party

Despite Ora’s ill-advised parties, officials in the UK are still advising people to heed the lockdown restrictions. In order to avoid the need to extend the lockdown or initiate a new one, health officials ask that everyone continue to respect social distancing, stay-at-home, and public health guidelines. 

According to CBS News, “Asked about the event, Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s spokesman, Jamie Davies, said it was ‘important that everybody in society sets an example by following the rules. That is for every member of the public, including celebrities.’

Britain has Europe’s worst coronavirus death toll, at over 58,000 people.”

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