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Australian singer and songwriter Sia faces an intense backlash from critics after choosing popular TikTok creator Maddie Ziegler as a teenage girl with autism in her upcoming film ‘Music’.
Sia is a household name in the pop music world; Hailed for hits such as “Chandelier” and “Titanium,” Sia has become a huge sensation in the industry, and now she is bringing her talents to the big screen.
Sia wrote and directed her own feature film, titled “Music,” which features an autistic character of the same name and her half-sister, Zu.
Despite her enthusiasm for the project (which also stars Kate Hudson), it looks like Sia is instead being criticized for her decision to pick Maddie Ziegler for the role of the autistic teenager in the film.
Ziegler is a huge star on TikTok, which has over 19 million subscribers on the viral video app. It’s not his follower count that gets the critics talking, however; instead, it’s the fact that Ziegler is a non-autistic person playing the role of an autistic character.
Many commentators took issue with the casting, believing that only people with autism should play the part of someone with autism, even noting that many actors with autism would gladly fill the role on short notice.
“I love Maddie Ziegler, don’t get me wrong,” one fan of the Sia film said. “But you have to see real people with autism and make them play autistic.”
I agree. I never called the music off. Special abilities is what I’ve always said, and putting someone at their functioning level was cruel, not kind, so I made the executive decision that we would do our best to lovingly represent the community.
– be (@Sia) November 20, 2020
Sia herself has answered the question in several articles, saying she thinks it is “more compassionate to use Maddie” than an actor with autism and that she “tried” to cast them for her film. She also stated that she had played three years of research for the film and autistic people have recommended it throughout production.
“Casting someone at her operating level was cruel, not nice, so I made the executive decision that we would do our best to lovingly represent the community,” she said of it, referring to the character of Ziegler.
You might just be a bad actor.
– be (@Sia) November 20, 2020
However, others have noted that some of Sia’s responses are less than ‘compassionate’, with the star responding to a review with ‘Maybe you’re just a bad actor’ when they claimed they offered to play. the role of Ziegler.
Although Sia’s “Music” won’t debut until 2021, it looks like the tone of its release has already been decided among viewers who feel the autistic community has not been respected by its casting decision.
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