By Charlotte Dean, Associate Showbiz Editor
Published: 13:00 BST, 30 September 2026 | Updated: 15:21 BST, 30 September 2026
Pop star Rita Ora has been hit with a multi-million-pound High Court lawsuit by her former manager, Sarah Stennett, over allegations that the singer failed to hand over required percentages of her professional earnings.
The legal battle marks a dramatic falling out between the 35-year-old chart-topper and the prominent industry figure behind FAE Ventures. The pair had enjoyed a long-standing and highly successful professional relationship spanning a decade and a half, having originally begun working together back in 2009 when Rita was just 18 years old.
However, their professional partnership came to an end in 2024. At the time of their split, reports indicated that the two women had experienced growing disagreements regarding the future direction of Rita’s career and her overarching artistic ambitions. Now, those underlying tensions have escalated into formal legal proceedings, with court documents lodged at the High Court revealing that Stennett’s firm is seeking approximately £3.2 million in damages and unpaid commissions.
According to legal papers filed by the FAE Ventures founder, Rita allegedly violated the terms of her management contracts by failing to remit the agreed-upon cuts of revenue generated from various revenue streams, including high-profile concert tours and lucrative television ventures.
The financial breakdown of the claim details multiple areas where payments were allegedly withheld or improperly accounted for. Reports indicate that the single largest underpayment sum cited in the legal documents totals just over £1.7 million. Stennett’s firm claims this amount stems from what it describes as "impermissible deductions" taken for various professional services, including advertising, accountancy fees, and insurance costs.
In addition to the deductions dispute, the lawsuit includes a separate claim for roughly £1.1 million relating to what the firm describes as "unreporting touring income." This portion of the legal challenge covers the period between the spring of 2019 and 2020, while Rita was actively traveling the globe on her major Phoenix World Tour.
The court documents argue that the payments made to FAE Ventures during that specific timeframe failed to properly account for certain touring revenues that the defendant had either directly received or which had been collected on her behalf. The complex nature of touring finances, which often involves multi-city ticket sales, merchandise, sponsorship deals, and promoter settlements, forms a central pillar of the firm’s financial demands in the ongoing dispute.
Representatives for both Sarah Stennett and Rita Ora were approached for comment regarding the High Court filing, but neither party had provided a public response at the time of publication.
Following her departure from FAE Ventures in 2024, Rita wasted little time in reshaping her professional team. She subsequently signed with manager Melissa Ruderman at Range Media Partners. The strategic move was widely publicized at the time as a pivot for the British singer, who made it clear that she wanted to expand her professional footprint beyond the boundaries of traditional music recording. Rather than being treated primarily as a recording artist, Rita signaled her intention to establish herself as a true multi-hyphenate entertainer, branching further into acting, business ventures, and global media projects.
Despite the looming legal battle, the singer’s career calendar remains exceptionally busy as she balances a wide array of high-profile entertainment projects and entrepreneurial endeavors.
Rita recently treated her fans to a glimpse behind the scenes of her creative process, sharing a photograph straight from the recording studio as she hard at work on her upcoming music. The new material will form the basis of her eagerly anticipated fourth studio album, which is currently slated for an official release in 2027.
In addition to focusing heavily on her music career, Rita has been making significant waves in the film and television industry. She is officially attached to several major motion picture projects, including the upcoming Amazon MGM feature Honeymoon with Harry. In that film, she stars alongside an impressive A-list cast that features Jake Gyllenhaal, Kevin Costner, and Sarah Pidgeon.
Her relationship with Amazon MGM extends further through her involvement in the studio’s upcoming Voltron movie adaptation, a high-profile project that is expected to draw substantial global interest. Furthermore, Rita is poised to step back into the magical world of Disney’s Descendants universe. She will reprise her villainous role as the Queen of Hearts in the upcoming fantasy installment Descendants: Wicked Wonderland, following her previous successful appearance in Descendants: The Rise of Red.
Outside of the entertainment and music industries, Rita has also been dedicating substantial time and energy to the business world. She is actively building TYPEBEA, the specialized haircare brand that she co-founded alongside entrepreneur Anna Lahey, further cementing her status as an active business owner and commercial entrepreneur while she navigates the unfolding legal proceedings in London.
