Sia reveals she’s on the autism spectrum years after musical film controversy

Sia shared that she was on the autism spectrum years after sparking a backlash for casting neurotypical actor Maddie Ziegler as an autistic teenager in her directorial debut, Music.

“I’m on the spectrum and I’m recovering and whatever,” the singer and Survivor superfan said on a recent episode of Rob has a podcastwhich also included Survivor Season 44 runner-up Carolyn Wiger. “There’s a lot of stuff.” She praised Wiger for showing up and “ready to be rejected and ready to be the weirdo”, adding that “the crazy in me recognizes the crazy in you”.

“Nobody can ever know and love you when you’re full of secrets and living in shame,” Sia said. “And then we finally sit down in a room full of strangers and tell them our deepest, darkest, most shameful secrets, and everyone laughs with us, and we don’t feel like garbage for the first time in our lives, and we feel seen for the first time in our lives for who we really are, and then we can start to go out into the world and just function as humans and human beings with hearts and without pretending be anything.”

sia

sia

Jason Merritt/Getty Images Sia reveals she’s on the autism spectrum

“For 45 years, I was like, ‘I have to put on my human costume,'” she added. “And it’s only been in the last two years that I’ve become fully, fully myself.”

The “Chandelier” singer previously courted controversy in 2020 after the trailer for her feature debut was released in 2021 Music, centered on a newly sober woman named Zu (Kate Hudson) who becomes guardian to her half-sister Music (Ziegler), an autistic teenager. The National Autistic Society, among other community members, accused Sia of ableism and argued that she should have cast an actor with autism.

Sia initially hit back at the critics, saying the story was inspired by her “atypical neuro [sic] friend” who “found it too stressful to be non-verbal, and I made this movie with nothing but love for him and his mother.” She also noted that she chose 13 neuroatypical people The character later sparked more controversy, with Sia apologizing and stating that the scenes would be removed from future prints.

Sia and Kate Hudson

Sia and Kate Hudson

Merrick Morton Maddie Ziegler and Kate Hudson in “Music”

Early last year, Sia revealed that the scrutiny had led to a mental health relapse. “I was suicidal and relapsed and went to rehab,” she said The New York Times as part of a larger profile of Kathy Griffin, which Sia credits with helping her through the experience. “She saved my life,” Sia said.

Hudson has also addressed the film in the past, earning it a Golden Globe nomination at the 2021 ceremony. was put,” she said during a Jimmy Kimmel Live in 2021. “But it’s an important conversation to have, not just about this movie, but as a whole, about representation. When I hear that there’s someone who feels left out, I feel bad.”

She added, “It’s an ongoing and important dialogue to have about neurotypical actors portraying neurodivergent characters. It’s an important dialogue to have with people who are experts and know how to start the conversation. I encourage it. , really. We’re listening, and that’s an important dialogue to have.”

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