Almost two years ago, a single photo rocked the internet to its core. Of course, I'm talking about this picture of Taika Waititi, Rita Ora, and Tessa Thompson engaging in a three-way smooch-athon.
Back in July 2021, Taika — who married Rita just last year — responded to all the chatter around the photos. "I think in the world of the internet, everything goes away pretty quick," he told the Sydney Morning Herald at the time. "And also, is it that big a deal? No, not really. I was doing nothing wrong. It’s fine."
Now Rita has finally addressed all the chatter herself in a new interview with British GQ, in which she responds to the rumors that she, Taika, and Tessa were in a "throuple."
"I just chose to not acknowledge that because it’s ridiculous," she explained. "I think when some things are so absurd and it’s hard to fathom any sense of it, you just have to ignore it."
She added, "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."
Rita also explained what was going on when the trio had their photos snapped by the paps...sort of. "Have you ever been in a situation where you’ve had a lot of drinks and everyone’s your best friend?" she asked rhetorically. "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'?”
She continued, "Literally — that [photo] was just a bunch of friends having a good time. They [Taika and Tessa] had a crazy schedule and everyone was letting loose. I love that. Each to their own."
There was a silver lining to all the conversation, though: "The good news, though, is that when I was on Twitter talking to my fans, all of my incredible LGBTQIA+ fanbases were like, actually — whether this is true or not — 'I'm so inspired that this is being normalized publicly,'" she said.
"That made me really happy. You don’t know who it’s touching."
