Grammy Award-nominated singer and songwriter Sia makes her feature film directorial debut with the upcoming drama titled Music. However, the film has become the subject of controversy over its portrayal of autism and the casting of neurotypical actress Maddie Ziegler, who starred in multiple music videos co-directed by Sia, as the titular character.
Co-written by Sia and children’s author Dallas Clayton, Music stars Kate Hudson as Zu, a recently sober drug dealer who becomes the sole guardian of Ziegler’s Music, her teenage and autistic half-sister. While Zu feels ill-suited to care for her herself, much less her sister, she finds solace in being able to rely on the help of a friend and neighbor named Ebo, portrayed by Hamilton star Leslie Odom Jr.
Sia released the official trailer for the film on November 19th and immediately received criticism from Twitter users who were upset about an autistic character being portrayed by someone who was not autistic themselves. “It’s a mighty shame that someone with such a colossal platform is using it to exclude disabled and neurodiverse actors from their own narratives,” wrote one fan. “I’ve been a long time fan of your work, so this is really disappointing.”
In response, Sia defended her casting decisions, noting that she hired a diverse group of performers for various roles in Music. “I cast thirteen neuroatypical people, three trans folks, and not as fucking prostitutes or drug addicts but as doctors, nurses and singers. Fucking sad nobody’s even seen the dang movie. My heart has always been in the right place,” wrote Sia on her own Twitter account. Sia also explained that the character Music is based on a “neuro-atypical friend” of hers and when pressed about why she didn’t consult an autistic actor for the role, the singer replied, “it felt more compassionate to use Maddie.”
The controversy prompted a fan to support Sia on Twitter by noting that the singer cast a “non-autistic actor” in the role of Music because she didn’t want to pressure anyone on account of there not being much time between casting and the start of production. That argument was quickly countered, however. “Several autistic actors, myself included, responded to these tweets. We all said we could have acted in it on short notice. These excuses are just that- excuses. The fact of the matter is zero effort was made to include anyone who is actually autistic,” wrote one person in response, to which Sia ungraciously replied, “maybe you’re just a bad actor.” At some point during the exchange between fans, a visibly frustrated Sia Tweeted out, “Grrrrrrrrrr. Fuckity fuck why don’t you watch my film before you judge it? FURY.”
Another reason for the backlash against Music is Sia’s decision to partner with Autism Speaks on the film. While the organization dedicates itself to autism advocacy and research, it has also been criticized for its alleged exploitative practices and harmful rhetoric.
Sia’s response to the Music controversy stands in stark contrast to how the creative team on HBO Max’s The Witches addressed the criticism the film received for its depiction of people with limb differences. In a heartfelt message to people with limb differences, lead actress Anne Hathaway apologized for any offense caused by the design of her character and vowed to do better.
Music is currently scheduled to be released in theaters in early 2021.
Source: Sia/Twitter
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