Rita Ora has been accused of “blackfishing” - this is what that means

Rita Ora has been accused of “blackfishing” on social media after fans discovered her heritage is white Albanian.

This is everything you need to know about the situation - and what “blackfishing” means.

What is “Blackfishing”?

The term Catfishing has become well known around the world, thanks to the Catfish documentary and TV show.

Most people now know that catfishing means to pretend to be someone you’re not, usually online.

This could mean using fake pictures, or making up a completely different personality.

The term “Blackfishing” might not be as well known, but it shares a similar meaning to catfish - it refers to someone who uses things like hairstyling and makeup to create and enhance certain features to make it appear as if they have black heritage or are racially ambiguous.

The term was coined by journalist Wanna Thompson after she saw a Twitter discussion about white women cosplaying as black women.

Blackfishing is an issue because it allows a person to pick and choose the “cool” parts of being black, without facing any of the discrimination that black people do.

Thompson said: “Black is cool, unless you’re actually black.”

Johanna Yaovi, the founder of the Curl Talk Project, told The Guardian: “It’s about picking and choosing common black traits and characteristics for one’s benefit, while we continue to face discrimination on a day to day basis.