Rita Ora 'permanently leaves the UK' after Covid birthday party 'humiliation'

Rita Ora has reportedly left the UK and permanently moved to Los Angeles following her Covid birthday party scandal.

The star was under fire after she held her 30th birthday party during peak lockdown in November last year.

She broke lockdown rules and was pictured arriving at Casa Cruz in London's Notting Hill area to celebrate her big day.

Following the incident, the singer had been travelling around and was recently in Sydney filming for The Voice Australia.

It was in the same country that she was pictured canoodling with Taika Waititi and Tessa Thompson.

According to The Sun, the two flew to Los Angeles earlier this summer to be together.

A source told the publication. : “It’s become increasingly obvious for her that LA is going to be where she lives for the foreseeable.

“It feels a bit like there are some bad memories in London and she’s happy to start afresh in LA where there are loads of new opportunities.

The Mirror has contacted Rita's reps for comment.

“After her birthday bash last year, Rita left the UK and hasn’t been back since."

The source also added that Taika is 'based in LA', so the two have been spending a lot of their time together.

The pair have been linked since April after they shared a racy three-way kiss with actress Tessa.

Her cosy link-up with Taika came a few months after she released an apology for her mid-lockdown birthday bash.

Rita's party was attended by Cara and Poppy Delevingne, Towie's Vas Morgan and her older sister Elena.

In a statement, she 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 judgement. Given the restrictions, I realise how irresponsible these actions were and I take full responsibility.

"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. Even though this won't make it right, I want to sincerely apologise."

Sources said Rita had voluntarily paid a £10,000 fine after speaking to police officers at the time. 

Reference:Mirror:  Zara Woodcock