Sia, the Australian singer known for hits like Unstoppable, Chandelier and Elastic Heart recently revealed that she’s on the autism spectrum.
The singer/filmmaker appeared on Rob Has a Podcast where she shared her autism diagnosis, just two years after receiving backlash about a film she co-wrote and directed called Music, which depicts the story of a non-speaking autistic teen and her carer.
Starring Maddie Ziegler – who has featured in many of Sia’s music videos like Chandelier and Elastic Heart – the film sparked controversy after Maddie’s character, a teen with autism, was depicted “cartoonishly” by the neurotypical actress. Additionally, the film’s first version includes a controversial scene where Ziegler’s character is restrained during an episode of overstimulation, which has since been removed after Sia addressed the backlash.
Initially she defended the film, adding that it was based on experiences of a “neuroatypical friend”. However, the singer/filmmaker then shared her apologies on Twitter before deleting her account. She said:
“I plan to remove the restraint scenes from all future printings. I listened to the wrong people and that is my responsibility, my research was clearly not thorough enough, not wide enough,”
“I promise, I have been listening. The motion picture Music will, moving forward, have this warning at the head of the movie. Music in no way condones or recommends the use of restraint on autistic people. There are autistic occupational therapists that specialise in sensory processing who can be consulted to explain safe ways to provide proprioceptive, deep-pressure feedback to help w[ith] meltdown safety.”
During this time, Sia did not allude to being on the autism spectrum herself. However, on her recent podcast appearance, she shared the news:
In the same episode, Sia also addressed her struggles in overcoming alcohol addiction:
“I think one of the greatest things is that nobody can ever know you and love you when you’re filled with secrets and living in shame…”
“And when we finally sit in a roomful of strangers and tell them our deepest, darkest, most shameful secrets, and everybody laughs along with us, and we don’t feel like pieces of trash for the first time in our lives, and we feel seen, for the first time in our lives, for who we actually are – then we can start going out into the world and operating as human beings with hearts, and not pretending to be anything.”
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Feature Image: Getty
