Rita Ora has finally responded to speculation that she is the infamous Becky referenced in Beyonce’s Lemonade album. During an interview on December 1, 2022, Ora laid the rumor to rest by denying that she is Becky.
Beyonce released her album Lemonade in 2016, and one song featured on it was Sorry. In it, Beyonce insinuated that her husband, Jay-Z, had been unfaithful to her.
His mistress was a mystery and is referenced only as “Becky with the good hair.”
“Becky” quickly captured the internet’s attention, and many women have been accused of being her, including Ora.
Speculation largely arose because, in 2016, Ora was spotted wearing a necklace with the initial J on it. The initial necklace was glimpsed in a Snapchat clip in which Ora also was wearing a lemon-printed bikini top.
Rumors quickly arose claiming that the initial necklace was a hint that something was going on between Ora and Jay-Z. However, Ora explained that the necklace was just a coincidence.
She stated on the Louis Theroux Interviews show, “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.”
Rita Ora denied being Becky in Beyonce’s song
According to Ora’s statement, she wasn’t involved at all with Jay-Z. In addition to that, she claimed that the necklace that sparked the rumors didn’t even have the initial J on it.
She also explained that the lemon bikini top was another coincidence. She stated that she had designed the bikini top with a company called Tezenis that she was collaborating with.
Ora further reiterated that neither of the necklace nor the bikini top had anything to do with Jay-Z. As for the rumors, she stated, “This is what I mean, man. A pinch of salt. You’ve got to take things with a pinch of salt.”
She said that she just had to “sit through” the rumors of her being a mistress even though those speculating had no proof. The rumors were so widespread that Katy Perry gave Ora a badge that said: “not Becky.”
However, she did recall being frustrated, not just with the rumors, but with the constant focus on her personal life. Ora is an accomplished singer and songwriter with plenty of “credentials” to earn respect and spark conversation.
Hopefully, the rumors of her being Becky will die down now that she has addressed them outright.
Who is Becky with the good hair?
It has been six years since Beyonce released her album Lemonade. While Becky with the good hair became the occupation of internet sleuths, she has never been positively identified.
However, there have been multiple Becky suspects over the years. In addition to Ora, Gwyneth Paltrow and Rachel Roy were also accused of being Becky.
The internet erupted in April 2016 when fans believed that Roy had publicly identified herself as Becky. She made a post with the cryptic caption, “Good hair don’t care, but we will take good lighting, for selfies, or self truths, always. live in the light #nodramaqueens”
The torrent of abuse she received prompted her to temporarily privatize her Instagram and make a statement denying she was Becky.
Then, in 2018, internet sleuths once more thought they had found Becky when Amber Rose said that she believed Paltrow was Becky. Paltrow and her team immediately denied the claims and Rose later clarified that she had just been joking. Rose also stated that she had gotten into quite a bit of trouble for her reckless joke.
As of today, no one knows who Becky is. There’s a chance that Becky was never even a real person, given that Beyonce very well could’ve taken on a fictional voice for the song.