Sia has announced that she’s “on the spectrum”, two years after her directorial debut Music faced backlash for its “troubling and misleading” depictions of autism.
Speaking on a recent episode of Rob Has A Podcast, the 47-year-old told hosts Rob Cesternino and Carolyn Wiger that she is “on the spectrum, and I’m in recovery and whatever — there’s a lot of things”.
While the Australian singer did not share when she was diagnosed, Sia alluded that it was a recent development.
She said: “For 45 years, I was like, ‘I’ve got to go put my human suit on,’ and only in the last two years have I become fully, fully myself.”
After Wiger thanked the star for her candour, Sia spoke about her sobriety and admitted that she found relief in learning of her diagnosis.
She shared: “Being in recovery and also knowing about which kind of neurologicality you might have, or might not have, well, 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.”
Sia comments about her autism diagnosis comes two years after her feature film was shrouded in controversy.
In Music, neurotypical Maddie Ziegler was cast as a nonverbal teenager on the autism spectrum.
Prior to its release, an online petition was launched, aiming to cancel the premiere due to the film’s “inaccurate and hurtful betrayal of the [autistic] community” and the inclusion of scenes which saw Ziegler’s character restrained in a physical position that has led to injuries and even death in reality.
Following its 2021 debut, the movie was lambasted by critics who described it as “painfully misguided in essentially every respect”.
Addressing the widespread criticism at the time, Sia defended the movie by saying: “The character is based completely on my neuro-atypical friend.”
She later apologised to the autism community and said that a disclaimer would appear before future screenings of Music.
