Sia is coming out and REVEALING that she was suicidal following the backlash she got from
her controversial movie “Music.”
Let’s get into the details.
First of all, we would like to issue a trigger warning because this video does touch on the
topic of suicide, so please only continue if you feel comfortable doing so.
In an interview with The New York Times, Sia shared that she was suicidal and had to
enter rehab due to the all criticism she received in her directorial debut of her film Music.
Sia’s interview was part of a profile on comedian Kathy Griffin.
She talked about how Kathy helped her cope with the negative reviews once the film was
released.
Sia explained, “I was suicidal and repleased and went to rehab.”
She then went to credit Kathy with saving her life.
The whole controversy over the film started when Sia decided to cast former “Dance Moms”
star Maddie Ziegler in the lead as a nonverbal, austistic teen named Music Gamble.
Maddie and Sia have famously worked together in the past for Sia’s music video projects
“Chandelier” and “Elastic Hearts.”
With Maddie being neurotypical, many members of the autism community were outraged by the
casting and how the film portrayed autism in general.
There were even petitioners asking for the movie to be canceled.
Yet, the movie was released in theaters last year and faced even more backlash after it
received two Golden Globes nominations in 20-21.
But before the movie came out, Sia initially defended casting Maddie– explaining to Australia’s
10 News First that she “...tried working with a beautiful young girl non verbal on
the spectrum.”
However, Sia said the experience was “unpleasant and stressful” due to the role being very
demanding.
Sia thought Maddie was perfect for the job because the character has many complicated
dance sequences.
And ultimately, Sia told Australian TV show “The Sunday Project,” that the decision
to cast Maddie was more about nepotism than ableism.
She said, "I realized it wasn't ableism.
I mean, it is ableism I guess as well, but it's actually nepotism because I can't do
a project without her.
I don't want to.
I wouldn't make art if it didn't include her."
Interestingly enough, the character Music Gamble was based off of one of Sia’s neuro-atypical
friends.
Sia revealed, “He found it too stressful being nonverbal, and I made this movie with
nothing but love for him and his mother.”
Regardless of Sia's intentions on making the film, tons of people had issues with Maddie’s
character being physically restrained in attempts to keep her calm.
And because of this particular criticism, Sia tweeted this: “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 specialize in sensory processing who
can be consulted to explain safe ways to provide proprioceptive, deep-pressure feedback to
help with meltdown safety.”
Sia later appeared to delete her Twitter amid all the backlash in February of 20-21.
According to USA Today, Sia and the movie’s filmmaker also responded to the backlash by
saying scenes with Maddie’s character being held back would be nixed “from all future
printings.”
However controversial the movie may be, there’s one thing we know for sure: the film has generated
important conversations about ableism, disability rights and portraying and casting people with
autism in the proper way.
To get more details on the controversy surrounding Sia’s film “Music,” click here for another
Clevver News video.
If you or someone you love needs help, call the national suicide prevention lifeline
at 1-800-273-8255.
I’m your host Sussan Mourad, and please take care of yourself.