Rita Ora recieved some valuable advice from Brandy, one queen to another, on their new Disney+ movie.
The You & I artist explained why the Cinderella (1997) star told her to “stop” apologizing on the set of Descendants: The Rise of Red, which is now available to stream on Disney+ ahead of its August 9 Disney Channel premiere.
She recalled filming an “iconic” coup scene in which her Queen of Hearts character takes Brandy’s Cinderella as a hostage. “‘Off with her head!’ It’s a very iconic quote for Queen of Hearts, and I was trying to find my version of that,” Ora told Entertainment Weekly.
But Ora found it difficult pretending to be mean to the Moesha alum, whom she “would try and imitate every day in my bedroom” as a kid.
“Every scene after that, I would be like, ‘I’m so sorry, I don’t mean it,’” she added. “And Brandy’s like, ‘Can you stop? You are in character, do what you need to do.’ And I was like, ‘But just remember, I love you!’ And then we’d get back into it. It was great.”
Rita Ora as Queen of Hearts in Descendants: The Rise of Red. (Disney+/Courtesy Everett Collection)
Ora said that “watching her Cinderella with Whitney Houston was so iconic for so many reasons. It made me believe in myself — like, ‘Oh my goodness, I can do this too.’”
“This was so fun, and she gave me so much advice, and we sang together. I love her,” said Ora, adding with a laugh: “I think I was more fanning out than she was, but it’s fine.”
Descendants: The Rise of Red sees the Queen of Heart’s rebellious daughter Red (Kylie Cantrall) teaming up with Cinderella’s perfectionist daughter Chloe (Malia Baker) as they travel back in time in attempt to undo the traumatic event that sent her mother down a villainous path.
The fourth installment in the Descendants franchise reunites Brandy with Paolo Montalban, reprising his role as Prince (now King) Charming from the Wonderful World of Disney’s 1997 remake of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical.