Rita Ora covers the April issue of InStyle UK in an Asian-inspired spread with lots of fabulous prints and relevant architecture lurking in the background. She’s promoting her role as Christian Grey’s sister in 50 Shades. Rita’s hustled plenty for this film, which seems unfair since she only snagged less than a minute of screentime. Critics called her out on the “blink and you’ll miss it” role, and Rita grew indignant. She’s already signed on for two sequels and promises her role will grow more substantial. If I were Rita, I’d be thrilled to skip out on this mess. She can still include the film in her repertoire, and Rita has a firm supporter in Harvey Weinstein. She may be set for the next few years no matter what. Here are some InStyle excerpts:

Her career setbacks:“I’ve been told ‘no’ so many times in my career. It doesn’t mean it’s over … I can remember every single ‘no’ I’ve been told in my life. They do not leave my brain. But they build you up.”

On snagging the 50 Shades role: “I said I’d love to involved as I was such a fan of the book. And then Sam said, ‘Well, why don’t you audition?’ And I said, ‘Sure … I’ve got a few song ideas, I could send them over…’ and she said, ‘No, why don’t you audition for the movie?’ And I was like, ‘What?, I’ve done a bit of acting, but honestly didn’t expect to be put into that role. I thought, what have I got to lose? I auditioned like everybody else — there were a lot of other people in the frame. I didn’t get any special treatment. I perfected my American accent, one thing led to another, and I got it.”

She rejected The Voice: “I said no straight away. I love the show but I wanted to focus on my second album. And then I spoke to will.I.am and he said “Listen, if you don’t do it, I won’t do it.’”

[From InStyle UK]

I’ve said this before — Rita’s musical appeal evades my sensibilities, but her unparallelled hustle works wonders. She plays a good game, which may only have temporary results, but it’s still an admirable haul. I don’t think anyone can judge her acting prowess by four lines in 50 Shades, but we’ll see how she fares in the coming years. At this point, producers could slip anyone into the cast slots and make it work.

FYI, here’s Rita in a silly blue fur coat in London last weekend. Rita attended the same event as Kim Kardashian, they both wore the same pink latex dress. No wonder Rita kept her coat on outside the venue.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet, WENN & Marcin Tyszka/InStyle UK