On May 11, Rita Ora released a controversial song titled “Girls,” featuring Cardi B, Charli XCX, and Bebe Rexha. The upbeat pop song about girls wanting to kiss other girls received a lot of backlash. Most of the criticism centered around the idea that the lyrics are an insult to the LGBTQ+ community.

The main concern was around the lyrics:  “Sometimes I just wanna kiss girls, girls, girls / Red wine, I just wanna kiss girls, girls girls,” (Ora).

Many people, such as singer Hayley Kiyoko, referred to the message as “downright tone-deaf,” saying that she doesn’t need to drink wine to kiss girls. Kiyoko posted her opinion on Instagram on the day the song was released, stating that she believes that the lyrics to this song “completely belittles and invalidates the very pure feelings of an entire community.”  

Ora released a tweet apologizing and explaining her reasoning behind the contentious lyrics.