Rita Ora and Jay Z Met Gala hug: Singer branded 'disrespectful' after flirtatious embrace

Pop star Rita Ora has been slammed as "disrespectful" after embracing rapper Jay Z from the back.

The affectionate display occurred earlier this month when the Black Widow songstress approached the married hip hop star at a Met Gala after party as he chatted with music mogul P Diddy.

In the snap making the rounds online a suited and booted Jay Z can been seen catching up with Diddy, who has his left hand on his shoulder. Ora, wearing a red dress and bold red lips, can be seen wrapping her arms around her mentor and smiling blissfully as she nestles into his back.

Although the 99 Problems hit maker attended the bash with his wife Beyoncé, she is not in the shot.

While Jay Z appeared unfazed by the gesture, the BeyHive has criticised her actions, insisting that it is inappropriate to behave like that with a married man.

"I think it was so disrespectful. She may be young, but she is not a child. But are we forgetting that he let her hug him. He didn't try to step away, he went on with his convo," one critic pointed out.

Talk show host Wendy Williams even weighed in on the controversy during her Hot Topics segment.

"A hug is not just a hug everybody. A hug from behind is way more intimate than a hug from the front," she said. "I give young people a pass for a few things but don't give y'all a pass when it comes to certain things like flirty flirty because you are all out there doing the most. Rita Ora knew exactly what she was doing."

But despite the uproar spilling unto social media, it was business as usual for Ora, who choose to focus on promoting her new single.

The awkward exchange comes just months after Ora, who previously dated Calvin Harris and Rob Kardashian, was forced to deny long-standing rumours that she was sexually involved with the Roc Nation boss.

When quizzed about speculation that he has cheated on his wife during an appearance on The Breakfast Club, she hit back: "Don't you dare disrespect Beyoncé like that ever again in your entire life. Queen. You should know better than that [...] That's just straight up disrespect. You can't even go there."

But Ora doesn't have a monopoly on inappropriate manoeuvres. Back in December, when the music producer and singer Pharrell Williams was presented with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame by the openly gay Ellen DeGeneres, she celebrated her pal's achievement by leaning in for a smooch on the lips, in front of his wife and son. Williams did not resist her advances.