This is definitely a birthday bash she will not be forgetting anytime soon. Ora celebrated her 30th birthday by hosting a star-studded private event at Notting Hill's Casa Cruz and fans were less-than-impressed by the singer's 'serious and inexcusable error of judgement'.
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Current lockdown rules have banned all forms of unnecessary social gatherings between November 5th and December 2nd. But this did not seem to stop Ora as she, along with socialite sisters Cara and Poppy Delevingne among other celebrity attendees, were partying it up on the night of November 26th.
Damage control
Rita took to instagram to direct an apology to her fans and those who have been affected by the virus:
I feel particularly embarrassed knowing first hand how hard people have worked to combat this terrible illness and being fully aware of the sacrifices that people and businesses have made to help keep us all safe.
Infuriated fans believed this behaviour was downright 'selfish and egocentric.' But the singer replied back saying:
This was a serious and inexcusable error of judgement. Given the restrictions, I realise how irresponsible these actions were and I take full responsibility. Even though this won’t make it right, I want to sincerely apologise.
A self-imposed fine to make amends
As a result, she voluntarily payed a £10k fine–the maximum amount you can be fined for breaching social distancing rules– in an attempt to show sincere remorse for her actions.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman expressed the importance of respecting the measures that were taken to assure we contain the virus– and this extends to celebrities as well. We often forget, and it seems they do as well, that their celebrity status does not exempt them from the law.
Hope the celebration was worth setting you back £10K Rita! But, let's be real here, that's a probably just spit in the ocean for the uber-rich.
