Sia defended her decision to cast Maddie Ziegler as an autistic teen in her debut film, ‘Music,’ despite backlash from people with disabilities.
TV & Movies The dancer will star in Sia’s directorial debut despite backlash from the autism community. When the first trailer for Sia’s directorial debut, Music, was released, the singer faced criticism for not casting an autistic actor in the titular role. However, in a January interview on Australia’s The Sunday Project, the « Chandelier » singer doubled down on her decision to cast Maddie Ziegler as the lead. « 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, » she said. « I wouldn’t make art if it didn’t include her. » The musician also said that she consulted with « medical experts » on set who praised Ziegler’s performance. « She cried on the first day of rehearsals and she was really scared and said, ‘I don’t want anyone to think that I’m making fun of them,' » Sia continued. The first-time director went on to add that she promised to defend the dancer and actor from criticism, but that didn’t end up being possible. « I realized I couldn’t really protect her from that, which I thought I could. » The singer continued to defend her decision by arguing that they collaborated with the Child Mind Insititute for the film and that the non-profit organization gave Ziegler « 100% as performance accuracy. » This wasn’t the first time Sia tried to justify her choice. In a December interview with Australia’s 10 News First, she said that she felt the dancer was the best fit for the part.
