Two years after she drew criticism for her depiction of autism in the film Music, Sia has announced that she is on the autism spectrum.
The Australian pop star and film-maker shared her experience publicly for the first time on a podcast about the American TV series Survivor. “I’m on the spectrum,” she said. “I’ve felt like for 45 years, I was like, ‘I’ve got to go put my human suit on’,” she said. “And only in the last two years have I become fully myself.”
Following a two-decade career as a songwriter, singer and performer, Sia branched into film-making in 2021 with the release of the musical drama Music. which she directed and co-wrote.
The film, which follows a non-speaking autistic teenager and her carer, sparked backlash for its clumsy portrayal of the condition and its casting of the neurotypical actress Maddie Ziegler – who has appeared in some of the singer’s best-known music videos (including Chandelier and Elastic Heart) – in a lead role.
A Guardian review from the time referred to the choice as problematic, “especially given the cartoonishness of her portrayal, which sees her gurning, grimacing and mumbling through her scenes”. Critics also denounced the inclusion of a controversial scene in which Ziegler’s character is held in a face-down prone restraint during an episode of overstimulation.
The film, which Sia had described as “a love letter to caregivers and to the autism community”, was nominated for two Golden Globes. Meanwhile, a petition to cancel its release circulated online.
The singer initially defended her directorial debut, saying it was “completely” based on the experiences of a “neuroatypical friend”. However, she then issued a series of apologies on Twitter before deleting her account.
“I plan to remove the restraint scenes from all future printings. I listened to the wrong people and that is my responsibility, my research was clearly not thorough enough, not wide enough,” she said.
“I promise, I have been listening. 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 specialise in sensory processing who can be consulted to explain safe ways to provide proprioceptive, deep-pressure feedback to help w[ith] meltdown safety.”
At the time, Sia did not allude to being neuroatypical herself.
On the podcast, Sia also discussed her struggles with alcohol addiction and recovery.
“I think one of the greatest things is that nobody can ever know you and love you when you’re filled with secrets and living in shame,” she said.
“And when we finally sit in a roomful of strangers and tell them our deepest, darkest, most shameful secrets, and everybody laughs along with us, and we don’t feel like pieces of trash for the first time in our lives, and we feel seen, for the first time in our lives, for who we actually are – then we can start going out into the world and operating as human beings with hearts, and not pretending to be anything.”
