Rita Ora defends decision to work with Terry Richardson

Rita Ora has defended her decision to work with Terry Richardson on past projects.

The controversial photographer has faced sexual assault allegations from several models over the years, and they resurfaced earlier this month in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein sex scandal.

Richardson has been accused of coercing young female models into compromising positions, and into pretending to perform sex acts on him in allegations dating back to 2001.

Rita, 26, teamed up with him for a provocative photoshoot for French magazine Lui in 2016 and has claimed she wasn't aware of the allegations against him at the time and didn't experience anything untoward.

"I loved his collection of photography, I loved his book with Lady Gaga, the shoot was my choice and it was totally my suggestion," she told The Guardian. "I can only talk about my experience of working with him: it was a relaxed day and I had the time of my life. At the time, I wasn't aware of the accusations."

When asked if she would have changed her mind if she knew, she replied, "If I was aware of any of the accusations against Terry I would, of course, have rethought my decision."

In the pictures from the shoot, Rita was seen playing the piano completely naked and posing in sexy underwear.

Her interview with The Guardian took place before Richardson was placed back in the spotlight over the allegations, which have led to him being dropped by Conde Nast, the publisher of magazines including Vogue and Vanity Fair, and brands such as Bulgari and Valentino.

However, he has dismissed accusations of inappropriate behavior and a representative addressed the backlash on Tuesday, stating that the 52-year-old is known for "sexually explicit work".

"He is an artist who has been known for his sexually explicit work so many of his professional interactions with subjects were sexual and explicit in nature but all of the subjects of his work participated consensually," his spokesman said.