Like most, I was surprised to hear Rita Ora landed the hosting gig for America’s Next Top Model after Tyra Banks. It was smart on her part, considering her music career seems stalled, but I cannot imagine she would have Tyra-esque screen presence. However, she is the host and she is currently doing press to generate interest in her new role. Rita recently gave an interview to Women’s Health UK about body confidence and social media’s role in how we see ourselves.
On her body confidence: Am I body confident? No. Have I always felt that way, no. I didn’t feel great about myself today in fact. I’ve never looked at myself as being the perfect size or having the perfect body. As females there’s always something we don’t like about our bodies. It’s a normal thing. If I could do a parade down Oxford Street naked with all of my girls that aren’t typical models, I would. Because I want to see girls who aren’t a size zero in my underwear. I see them tagging me on the Internet and it feels great…That’s why I asked a plus sized model [Ashley Graham] to be a judge on ANTM with me. Because people need to see these norms on the TV and in the media.
On social media deteriorating body confidence: Social media has molded my generation, but it’s also destroyed it. Everything is so intense now because everything is zoomed. What is real, what isn’t real, who likes what, who has the most followers. Those weren’t problems before.
On critiquing contestants on ANTM vs. someone’s looks: I think it has a lot to do with why they joined the competition in the first place. It has to begin with their confidence, and then we mold them into a superstar. This year we are finding a mogul. Being a brand ambassador for multiple brands I really wanted to come across as someone who is going to nurture this girl into whoever the winner is into a smart business woman as well as a model. Yes I’m a singer. Yes I act. But I’ve also fronted many campaigns for Cavalli, Material Girl and DKNY, Tezenius, Adidas. I think that’s a good representation of today’s superstar.
A couple of things stand out for me in this interview. Mostly, I feel bad for Rita because she is not receiving great reviews as host for ANTM and this reads like a hustle to prove she belongs there. Next, I wonder how much control does she have? Did she really hand select Ashley Graham? That would elevate Rita in my opinion because I think Ashley is a really good fit but I am having a hard time believing Tyra gave Rita the reigns along with the host position. Rita also claimed producer Ken Mok came to her for advice on how to revamp the show and that she changed the direction from, “Instead of us finding a beautiful girl who takes a beautiful photo, it’s about finding a beautiful girl who can take a great photo and become a brand.”
As for her comments on social media, I agree with her connecting people’s lowered body image and the rise of anonymous online judgement. However, if she’s looking for a brand mogul instead of a model from ANTM as she said, then shouldn’t a large part of the show be about working social media? It’s an interesting question – how is judging the contestants different than judging a photo on social media? I assume the only demarcation is the qualifications of those doing the judging. But if I take Rita at her word here and she really is trying to expand the image of brand ambassadors to include all shapes and sizes, that would be great. Except that going by the contestants selected, they are not putting their money where their mouths are.
Photo credit: WENN Photos
I think Rita is a liar and will do/say anything to have the perception of belonging, because she knows to most people perception is reality.
I like her. I don’t listen to her music, but there is something about her I like. And it’s nice to see someone from Kosovo hitting it big.
I think it’s due to two things: 1- It’s the media’s goal to make us feel bad so we can buy things we don’t actually need; 2- We’re raised to believe it’s important to be pleasant to men’s eyes, and since they’re human beings with diffent tastes (like it’s supposed to be), we’re never 100% happy.
I have no idea who she is. Is she a model?
I don’t have anything against her except that compared to Tyra, she is not doing a good job as a host. She is not interesting