Sia’s new movie slammed for portrayal of autism, singer blasts critics
By Francesca Bacardi - Page Six
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Sia won’t face the music surrounding her new movie.
The “Cheap Thrills” singer, 44, debuted the trailer for her film, “Music,” starring Kate Hudson, Leslie Odom Jr. and Maddie Ziegler, on Thursday, and immediately faced criticism for casting Ziegler as a character with autism even though she’s not autistic in real life.
“It’s a mighty shame that someone with such a colossal platform is using it to exclude disabled and neuro diverse actors from their own narratives,” tweeted one fan. “I’ve been a long time fan of your work, so this is really disappointing.”
Sia defended herself, claiming she hired various people with disabilities and some from the LGBTQ community.
“I cast thirteen neuroatypical people, three trans folk, and not as f–king prostitutes or drug addicts but s as doctors, nurses and singers,” she wrote. “F–king sad nobody’s even seen the dang movie. My heart has always been in the right place.”
“Several autistic actors, myself included, responded to these tweets. We all said we could have acted in it on short notice. These excuses are just that- excuses,” tweeted one woman in response. “The fact of the matter is zero effort was made to include anyone who is actually autistic. #NothingAboutUsWithoutUs”
Sia, however, felt differently about her casting approach.
“Maybe you’re just a bad actor,” she responded.
“the f–king state of how sia is responding to autistic people with valid criticisms of her film…we’re all adorable and easily fetishised and fun to make movies about until we speak lmao,” tweeted another user in response to Sia’s “bad actor” claim.
At some point, the “Chandelier” performer had enough with the backlash and snapped, “Grrrrrrrrrr. F–kity f–k why don’t you watch my film before you judge it? FURY.”
Reps for Sia didn’t immediately return Page Six’s request for comment.
The movie centers on Music (Ziegler), a teenager with autism who has a passion for music. Hudson plays Music’s half-sister and guardian Zu, a former drug dealer, and Leslie Odom Jr. plays her friend Ebo.
