Sia addressed the controversy surrounding her directorial debut, “Music,” after the film won two Golden Globe nominations on Tuesday morning, and then promptly deleted her Twitter account. (Sia’s Instagram account, which has more than 6 million followers, remains active until this update at 11:30 pm Pacific time.)
In a succession of tweets on Tuesday night, the singer wrote that she has “heard” criticism surrounding the interpretation of the film by a non-verbal autistic person by a neurotypical actor, Maddie Ziegler. As a result, the singer announced that a warning will appear at the beginning of the film, specifically about scenes of physical restraint.
“I promise, I have heard. The film MUSIC will, from now on, have this warning in the film’s header, “tweeted Sia, followed by the warning, which says:” MUSIC in no way tolerates or recommends the use of restraint in autistic people. There are autistic occupational therapists who specialize in sensory processing that can be consulted to explain safe ways to provide deep and proprioceptive pressure feedback to help with collapse security. ”
I promise, I have heard. The film MUSIC will have, from now on, this warning in the film header:
– sia (@Sia) February 4, 2021
MUSIC in no way tolerates or recommends the use of restraint in autistic people. There are autistic occupational therapists specializing in sensory processing who can be consulted to explain safe ways to provide proprioceptive feedback from deep pressure to help in the safety of collapse.
– sia (@Sia) February 4, 2021
Sia then simply tweeted “I’m sorry”, an apology presumably addressed to members of the autism community who expressed their disappointment at the film’s cast and the depiction of autism.
I’m so sorry.
– sia (@Sia) February 4, 2021
Sia also wrote that all containment scenes, for which the warning is made at the beginning of the film, will be removed from the public screenings of the film. “I intend to remove the restriction scenes from all future prints,” she wrote. “I heard the wrong people and that is my responsibility, my research was clearly not complete enough, nor broad enough.”
I plan to remove the restriction scenes from all future impressions. I heard the wrong people and that is my responsibility, my research was clearly not complete enough, it was not broad enough.
– sia (@Sia) February 4, 2021
The tweets remained accessible to the public for just over an hour before Sia deactivated her account.
“Music” received a nomination for best film in the musical or comedy category at the 2021 Golden Globe, with star Kate Hudson also receiving a nod to best actress. The recognition rekindled the controversy surrounding the film, which is due to be released in some IMAX cinemas on February 10.
In November, Sia became involved in a debate on Twitter with autism rights activists. In addition to criticizing Sia for casting a neurotypical actor for the role of an autistic person, Twitter users pointed to the use of the term “special skills” instead of “disabled” for people with autism and discussed whether Sia, as a neurotypical person, is exercising undue privileges when making a film centered on autism.
Sia responded to the caller with several tweets in which she used direct language and rejected criticism.
“The film is a love letter to caregivers and the autistic community,” says a tweet. “I have my own unique vision of the community, and I felt that it is underrepresented and compelled to do so. If it makes me shit, I’m shit, but my intentions are incredible. “
All of this led to the creation of a petition asking for the cancellation of the film, which has already collected more than 17,000 signatures.
“As an autistic person, I am asking for this film to be canceled,” wrote Hannah Marshall, the petition’s creator, on her home page. “It is extremely offensive to me and other autistic individuals. Sia showed no remorse for her inaccurate and painful betrayal of the community. “
The artist also had her supporters, such as the National Council for Severe Autism, which published a letter from Yuval Levental, an autistic fan, entitled, “Thank you for representing a girl with severe autism”.
In a recent interview on “Fierce: Women in Music,” which airs on SiriusXM’s Volume channel, Sia showed remorse for her reaction on social media. “I have to admit that I am capable to some extent; I’m not proud of that, ”she said, adding,“ I learned my lesson. ”