In the summer of 2021, Rita Ora, now-husband Taika Waititi, and Tessa Thompson were seen getting cozy together, so much so that rumors the three were a “throuple” quickly proliferated. In the months after that happened, Waititi and Thompson shared their perspectives, and now so too has Ora.
In a new GQ interview, Ora explained:
“I just chose to not acknowledge that because it’s ridiculous. I think when some things are so absurd, and it’s hard to fathom any sense of it, you just have to ignore it. I’ve taken that approach for a lot of things, because you don’t want to put energy towards something that’s nonexistent. It’s like trying to explain something that didn’t happen means you’re feeding into nothing.
Have you ever been in a situation where you’ve had a lot of drinks and everyone’s your best friend? And then the next day you’re like, ‘I was talking to this person in the smoking area for four hours and I’ve got no idea who they are?’ Literally — that [photo] was just a bunch of friends having a good time. They [Waititi and Thompson] had a crazy schedule and everyone was letting loose. I love that. Each to their own.
The good news though, is that when I was on Twitter talking to my fans, all of my incredible LGBTQIA+ fan bases were like, actually — whether this is true or not — I’m so inspired that this is being normalized publicly. That made me really happy. You don’t know who it’s touching.”
Meanwhile, back in 2021, Waititi responded when asked if the hubbub bothered him, “Not really. I think in the world of the internet, everything goes away pretty quick. And also, ‘Is it that big a deal?’ No, not really. I was doing nothing wrong. It’s fine.” Months later, Thompson said, “This idea that we were caught in some private salacious moment is frankly just untrue. If you look at those images, nowhere are our lips touching. Those are just my friends. They remain my friends, they were just my friends that day, and they continue to be.”
Find the full interview here.