Rita Ora forced to kneel before Madonna

Singers Rita Ora and Madonna. Photo / Getty Images, AP

Singer Rita Ora had to kneel down to chat to Madonna when the two stars met.

The British songstress, who describes Madonna as her "idol", told Britain's Daily Mirror newspaper that the superstar showed herself in a less than flattering light when they first met at a charity event in 2013.

Rita, 25, who has since had a cameo in the B**ch I'm Madonna music video, told the paper how she felt "sick" with nerves when she first met Madonna at the Chime for Change event in London, and was left shocked when the star demanded she move to avoid blocking her lighting.

"I was waiting for her and I was shivering. And my sister said to me, 'Are you ok? You look really crazy'," she recalled. "Madonna walks in with lighting all around her. I said 'Hi, it is so nice to meet you' and she was like 'This is the lighting here. Can you just kneel down here on the floor? I was like OK.

"So I kneeled down on the floor and we had this conversation where I was on the floor. Can you believe that? But that is Madonna and she can do whatever she wants."

Madonna's antics haven't put Rita off her idol though, and the pair have collaborated on different projects over the years. In 2014 Rita was named the face of the 57-year-old icon's Material Girl clothing line and last November she joined her onstage during her Rebel Heart Tour in Berlin for a risque performance.

However the X Factor UK judge admits that, unlike Madonna, she is not used to maintaining a star profile at all times and makes sure to have some downtime away from the red carpet.

"When I'm on a day off I will be in my bed at home. Do I have my make-up done? Hell to the no", she told an audience at the Glamour Beauty Festival on Sunday "I treat work and my prof life separately."

- WENN