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Rita Ora Sues Jay Z’s Roc Nation Record Label: I Feel ‘Orphaned’

Rita Ora

Jay Z is making moves to expand his entertainment empire, but there’s at least one artist who isn’t too thrilled about it: British chart-topper Rita Ora.

The “Body on Me” singer, 25, filed a complaint against Jay Z’s Roc Nation record label on Thursday, December 17, claiming that the company has not been taking care of its own since it expanded into sports management and other interests.

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“When Rita signed, Roc Nation and its senior executives were very involved with her as an artist,” the filing reads. “As Roc Nation’s interests diversified, there were fewer resources available and the company suffered a revolving door of executives. Rita’s remaining supporters at the label left or moved on to other activities, to the point where she no longer had a relationship with anyone at the company.”

Jay-Z, Rita Ora

According to the documents, Ora originally signed with Roc Nation back in 2008, when she was 18 years old. Now that it’s been seven years since, she can potentially invoke California’s “seven year rule.” (The British singer now resides in California.)

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California Labor Code Section 2855 (better known as the “seven year rule”) was enacted in 1944, when actress Olivia De Haviland took issue with her contract with Warner Bros. after the studio refused to let her go or let her sign on for roles outside of the ones they’d suggested for her.

Ora’s main complaint is that she is currently “self-funding her promotional television appearances, recording costs and video projects” now that she’s been “orphaned” by Roc Nation after it switched distribution partners from Sony to Universal — but left her behind at Sony.

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“Between Sony’s limited economic return from its orphaned relationship with Roc Nation and Sony’s indirect relationship with Rita, Rita is caught in a political quagmire of dysfunction,” the complaint reads.

Ora could be potentially locked in with Roc Nation through 2019, but if she wins her emancipation from the label, she could be setting an important example in entertainment industry law, according to 

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