Facebook/Flamur Bexha Bebe Rexha's father pictured on his Facebook page.
Flamur Rexha, Bebe Rexha’s father, said in a text message that he wants his daughter to stop posting “pornography” on her social media. Flamur said, via @Cborgione, “You better stop posting stupid pornography because you make me sick I can’t take this anymore embarrassed to go in public everywhere I can go i’m very upset with you I can’t believe it.” Rexha shared a screenshot of the text in a now-deleted Instagram post. Rexha accompanied the screenshot with the caption, “My dad hates me.”
Rexha said of the text message, “My dad is not a bad guy. I should of never have posted that screenshot. Im disappointed in myself. I was being sarcastic. I understand where he is coming from as a father and that’s why the text was a bit harsh. I am upset that he still isn’t speaking to me, but he still my father.” Rexha later told TMZ that in the wake of the fallout from the text messages, she was flying home from Los Angeles to make amends with her father.
Rexha comes from an ethnic-Albanian family, her father is from Debar, which is now located in Macedonia. Her mother is also from Macedonia. The family resides on Staten Island.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Rexha Said Her Father Stopped Talking to Her Following Her Video for ‘Last Hurrah’
On February 17, Rexha tweeted, “My dad still isn’t talking to me after he saw my last hurrah music video.” Shortly after that, Rexha said that the video had been flagged by YouTube as “sensitive” meaning that it could not trend. The clip shows Rexha playing both an “angel and demon.” During the day time, her character’s life is heavenly, at night she becomes the devil.
Rexha said in defense of the video’s content, “I am woman who is living unapologetically. I’m not gonna be made to feel bad about making ART. And yes art to me is my beautiful a** out, boys kissing boys, girls kissing girls, crosses on my body. IF A MALE RAPPER PUT OUT THAT VIDEO OUT IT WOULD BE FINE.” That was followed with, “The only person I would apologize to for this video is god if I offended him in any way. But I wrote this song with a pure heart. And wanted to portray how We are all fighting our temptations. No one is perfect. Thats why we turn to god. God created sex. And I like sex.”
2. Rexha Said Her Father Wanted Her To ‘Learn How to Clean the House & Marry a Man’
Rexha said in a 2016 interview that her father did not want her to sing and recommended that she learn the trumpet instead. Rexha said, “I started playing trumpet, because my dad was like, “Play trumpet, it’s cooler.” Rexha added that her father wanted her to “learn how to clean the house, marry a man.” Rexha said that her father was traditional and that he didn’t want his daughter to go into the entertainment industry.
Rexha credited her father with getting her interested in opera and also said that learning the trumpet helped her to write songs in her youth.
3. Rexha’s Father Was a Scaffolder & Her Mother Was a Store Assistant
Rexha told the Sun in a 2017 interview that her father worked as a scaffolder and her mother was a store assistant. Rexha’s mother, Bukie, says on her Facebook page that she studied at the Fashion Institute of Technology and that she works at Bobbi Brown Cosmetics.
In a 2014 interview interview, Rexha said, in Albanian, “My dad is from Dibra, Macedonia. He came here in the US in the 1980s with my mother. My mother’s parents are from Gostivar. We like to keep our culture and I’m very attached to my family and roots. I try to go to Macedonia to visit my family at least once a year, because the family is very important to me. Very often we have weddings and such events, so with my parents we often visit family members there.” Rexha concluded that interview by saying, “I’m lucky because I have a lot of support from the record label, my family and the Albanian community. I am very grateful for this.”
4. The Last Text Message That Rexha Shared From Her Father Struck a Positive Chord
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In February 2017, Rexha shared a message from her dad in the wake of the singer’s performance on “The Late Late Show with James Corden.” The message read, “Excellent perform I got a good job that was amazing God bless you you reach the higher notes I can’t believe that was so crazy you leave me breathless I wish you the best and success on your tour.” Rexha replied saying, “Awwwwww” and “Love you Dad.” A month later, Rexha tweeted, “My dad just called me to tell me not to curse at my New York show and to wear something “appropriate.””
5. Rexha Says Her Parents Worked Hard & Never Let Her Know That They Had No Money
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Rexha told the BBC in June 2018, “Mum and dad worked really hard but they never let me know that we had no money.” Rexha said during the same interview that her upbringing in Staten Island was “very strict” with her father describing becoming a singer as “The devil’s career.” The singer went on, “Growing up, I was always very anxious and I didn’t know why. The only way I felt truly calm and safe was when I listened to music.”
When asked by Hong Kong Tatler in a 2017 interview about how she survived in the music industry, Rexha said, “I fly my mom and dad out to LA all the time, and I have a very small group of friends who keep me grounded. In this industry, things can become very Hollywood very fast and I think that’s the fastest way to become sad.”
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