Sia says she is autistic, two years after her movie on autism was trashed as harmful for autistic community
Sia says she's on the autism spectrum. Photo: Getty Images, Music film
Australian singer-songwriter Sia just revealed that she is on the autistic spectrum during "Rob Has A Podcast" of People magazine. The Chandelier singer's revelations come two years after her first feature directorial movie on an autistic girl called Music was criticised for its portrayal of an autistic person.
The 47-year-old singer has previously spoken about being sober and being in rehab for alcohol addiction, and for the first time, she publicly revealed being autistic.
Sia's revelation about being autistic has Twitter in a buzz, given that only two years ago, she was criticised for directing a movie on an autistic character as offensive, stereotypical and harmful to the autistic community.
What's Sia's autism have to do with her movie?
- In 2021, Sia released her first directorial feature, Music, based on the titular character named "Music". Music is a non-verbal autistic woman who falls into the care of her half-sister played by Kate Hudson.
- Criticism about her movie ranged from Sia replacing an autistic actor with a non-autistic actor (neurotypical) Maddie Ziegler (who appears in various music videos by Sia) to play Music, to showing the use of restraint on autistic persons.
The next thing I want the general public to see is this clip from the opening scene.
— The Autisticats - #StopTheShock (@autisticats) February 12, 2021
CW: strobing lights, overwhelming visuals, caricature of autistic mannerisms pic.twitter.com/p8dzP66HFC
- Scenes in the movie also showed the use of so-called "calming restraint" on the autistic character Music, which was condemned by the community.
- The use of restraint to calm down an autistic meltdown has been controversial. It is even considered dangerous since an autistic person may not be able to tell when they can't breathe.
- Use of restraint, which often involves holding a person in a facedown position, immobilising their arms and legs with body weight, has caused the deaths of children within the autistic community.
- The movie was also criticised for flashing bright colours and loud music which can be uncomfortable for many on the autism spectrum due to Sensory Processing Disorder.
The backlash made Sia delete her Twitter account back in 2021, and she also claimed that it led to her having suicidal thoughts. Though the singer stood by her movie and casting decision, she later apologised for how the movie was hurting the autistic community members. She also added a disclaimer at the beginning of the movie saying it doesn't recommend the use of restraint on autistic persons and also promised to remove the scenes showing such.
As for her casting decision, Sia called it nepotism rather than ableism.
How is Twitter reacting to Sia's autism and her movie Music now?
- Twitter users say that Sia is still responsible for doing more harm than good with her movie Music and that her being on the autism spectrum doesn't absolve her of the mistakes she made.
It also doesn’t absolve her of her shitty movie and bullying autistic people when she was told how harmful her movie would be. We were right.
— Sare 💘 (@RoseNyborg) May 31, 2023
Fuck your autism, Sia. I really don’t care. https://t.co/fkbhtyQ1nY
- Some even said that even autistic people can be ableists or look down on other autistic persons.
#Sia. Girl please.
— Diane @Autastic.com (@WeAreAutastic) May 31, 2023
For anyone in the back, #autism is not an excuse for atrocious, ableist, harmful-to-an-entire-community behaviour, especially when you have power, money, and a platform. Happy for everyone who learns who they are but ya... #NothingAboutUsWithoutUs
- Others claimed that despite Sia's promise to cut out the scenes involving the use of restraint, the scenes are still present.
yep. apologies without actions are just words with no weight.
— chris evans’ whore (@noturfinalgrl) May 30, 2023