Rita Ora song accused of exploiting bisexuality by LGBTQ artists
- Published
A Rita Ora track featuring Cardi B, Bebe Rexha and Charli XCX has been accused of exploiting bisexuality by several LGBTQ musicians.
The chorus of Girls goes: "Sometimes, I just wanna kiss girls/Red wine, I just wanna kiss girls".
Singers including Kehlani, Hayley Kiyoko and Shura argue the song belittles same-sex relationships.
Newsbeat has asked Rita Ora's management for a comment, but they've not responded yet.
Rita has, however, given an interview to People Magazine in which she said she wants the song to be a bisexual anthem - but when asked whether she considers herself bisexual, she was less clear.
"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", she said.
Singer and actress Hayley Kiyoko was one of the first to speak out against the track.
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"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", she wrote on Instagram.
"A song like this just fuels the male gaze while marginalising the idea of women loving women."
She went on to add: "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."
Kehlani, who herself has a song with Cardi B (one of the artists featured in Girls), later tweeted about the same thing.
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British singer Shura summed her feelings up with an emoji.
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But there are plenty of fans who like the song.
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"My concern is that if this is her trying to do it because it's a bit sexy or a bit fun then it sort of sounds like it's undermining bisexuality as a serious thing," Sam Neath from Bi Pride UK has told Newsbeat.
"Being bisexual - when I'm with a girl you get a lot of attention from men who assume you're just doing it to attract them.
"Rather than actually accepting that it's a true genuine feeling to someone of the same gender, this song seems to completely undermine that and says we just do it for fun and to attract other men."
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