In a world where the personal lives of the rich and famous may feel like everyone’s business, it’s not uncommon for celebrities to shy away from being very open about their relationships. Taika Waititi, however, isn’t too pressed about the world being curious what he’s got going on behind the scenes — even after his love life became a center of media attention and gossip earlier this year.
Waititi recently chatted with The Sydney Morning Herald, leading to a conversation that covered his work on upcoming films Thor: Love and Thunder and Night Riders as well as a brief take on the social media buzz still going on about his personal life. Just months ago, Waititi was photographed hanging out with his girlfriend Rita Ora and his Thor: Ragnorak co-star Tessa Thompson in Sydney, and things got a little cozy between the trio. Photos acquired by The Daily Mail show the A-listers wrapped in a more-than-friendly embrace over drinks, with Waiti and Ora kissing, and Ora and the Men in Black International actress leaning in close as well. The paparazzi images sent the internet into a tizzy, inspiring fan fiction and conspiracy theories alike about what exactly the nature of the relationship between the three stars could be.
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Months later, the JoJo Rabbit director has casually acknowledged both the photos and the social media buzz that they inspired, chalking it up to being a consequence of the being online all the time. For him, the candid moment wasn’t really a thing then, and it shouldn’t be a big deal now.
“I think in the world of the internet, everything goes away pretty quick,” Waititi told The Sydney Morning Herald of the now-viral moment. “I was doing nothing wrong. It’s fine.”
While it's natural to be invested in the lives of famous people, it looks like the internet's hypotheses about Waititi's night on the town will never be confirmed because he's not kissing and telling. What's for certain is that the filmmaker and Ora have been dating since March 2021, choosing to mostly keep their relationship under the radar aside from the paparazzi images and a selfie that Ora shared of herself and Waititi in an April 2021 photoset on Instagram (which, coincidentally, included a selfie with Thompson).
"They've been a couple since early March but kept things low key," said a source about the rumored couple. "However, all their friends know about the relationship — they're really into each other."