Rita Ora Confirms She is Not the “Becky With the Good Hair” Beyoncé is Referring to

After six years of speculation, Rita Ora has responded to the rumors that she is “Becky with the good hair” from Beyoncé’s “Sorry.”

The song in question is featured on Beyoncé’s lauded Lemonade album. Like many of the tracks on the record, “Sorry” alludes to Jay-Z’s affair. The singer refers to the mystery woman as “Becky with the good hair.” Of course, many members of the Beyhive were hard-pressed to figure out who the woman behind the lyrics was, leading to a number of theories floating around online.

Ora’s name got brought into the conversation after she posted a photo with lemons in her bra and something that appeared to be a “J” necklace soon after the album was released. In a new interview as part of Louis Theroux’s TV series, Louis Theroux Interviews…, Ora finally put that rumor to bed.

Theroux said, “When Beyoncé had her album, there was a mysterious woman who allegedly Jay-Z had cheated with. Then at some point in 2016, with Lemonade in the air, you posted a picture of yourself with lemons on your bra and a ‘J’ around your neck.”

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Ora responded while laughing, “Oh my God, it literally was a coincidence. I didn’t even think about it, I swear. And it wasn’t a J, it was an R. They flipped it round, and then it looked like a J.”

Theroux went further to ask if the post was an effort to drum up buzz around the “Ritual” singer, to which Ora responded, “No, it had nothing… No, that was my own design with an underwear company called Tezenis that I was working with.”

She added, “This is what I mean, man. A pinch of salt. You’ve got to take things with a pinch of salt. And that’s what’s insane. I had to just sit through that until a good friend of mine, Katy Perry, gave me a hilarious badge that said “not Becky.’”

Ora released her last album, Phoenix, in 2018. The singer took her label, Roc Nation, to court in 2015 claiming that the firm had neglected her. The settlement was reached in 2016. Last month, Ora teased new music coming in early 2023.

Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic