Rita Ora has issued a public apology after breaching lockdown restrictions to host a 30th birthday bash in London last Saturday evening (28th November). The party, held at an Argentinian restaurant in the prestigious surroundings of Notting Hill, is reported to have been attended by over 30 guests. The Guardian newspaper has reported that Ora is likely to escape a personal fine, but the restaurant in question could face a £10,000 fine for the rule breach; with Kensington and Chelsea council’s environmental health department confirming an investigation has been launched.
Current guidelines in England state that hospitality venues should only open for delivery and takeaway services, and people are prohibited from mixing either indoors our outside in groups exceeding six. London will only leave current lockdown restrictions on December 2nd, at which point it will still be subject to Tier 2 restrictions – under which restaurants will still not be permitted to open.
Ora’s party would also have been in contravention of current Covid-19 guidelines in all other parts of the UK: in Wales, the size of groups meeting in hospitality venues is limited to four people – unless they are from a single household – with stricter regulations coming into force this Friday. The so-called ‘rule of six’ – from up to two households – also applies in Scotland; whilst pubs and restaurants remain closed in Northern Ireland (other than for takeaway and delivery services).
Addressing fans on her Instagram account, the I Will Never Let You Down singer said “Hello all, I attended a small gathering with some friends to celebrate my 30th birthday. It was a spur of the moment decision made with the misguided view that we were coming out of lockdown and this would be OK. I’m deeply sorry for breaking the rules and in turn understand that this puts people at risk. This was a serious and inexcusable error of judgment. Given the restrictions, I realise how irresponsible these actions were and I take full responsibility.”
Following the Notting Hill debacle, Ora also took to Twitter to thank fans for their steadfast backing over a rocky few days. The singer, who was this year recognised in the Spotify Awards as the Most-Streamed EDM Female Artist, posted a video of fan tributes – including from her most longstanding supporters, parents Vera and Besnik Ora.
Whilst Ora may not be feeling so hot right now, the West London songstress is not the first artist reported to have fallen foul of lockdown rules. The Daily Mirror reported that publicity-shy rapper and recent wildcard Presidential candidate Kanye West was suspected of having breached lockdown rules by attending events in London with his daughter North West last month; while drill merchant M24 defied public health restrictions by hosting a mass gathering for a Brixton-set music video in April.
Other artists have also attracted understandable ire for their approach to public health measures during the virus. Scottish vocalist Lewis Capaldi was criticised for playing a concert to 11,000 spectators in Aberdeen just hours before Scottish lockdown rules came into force in March, with the NME reporting that the singer addressed the crowd by saying “we’ve all probably got coronavirus” during the gig. The Stereophonics were also criticised for playing a sold-out show at Cardiff’s Motorpoint Arena in the same week.
A vocal minority of British musicians have also been particularly flagrant in their disregard for the public health measures designed to stop the spread of the virus. The likes of Stone Roses frontman Ian Brown, fellow 1990s contrarian Noel Gallagher, legendary Northern Irish rock crooner Van Morrison and Italian singer Andrea Bocelli have all frustrated loyal fans with their vocal support for debunked conspiracy theories downplaying the impact of Covid-19. The NME lambasted Brown in particular for embracing ‘red pill rock‘ (aka ‘the dumbest protest genre ever’) in his critically-derided anti-lockdown track Little Seed Big Tree.
