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Sia and Maddie Ziegler relationship: Fans suspect ‘abuse’ after slamming ‘Music’ anti-autism, ableist and racist

Sia had earlier defended the decision of casting Maddie. Now, when the movie is out, fans are talking about how obsessed she is with Maddie assuming something is wrong with it

Australian singer-songwriter Sia, whose directorial debut ‘Music’ hit the theatres on Friday, February 12, 2021, stars her goddaughter Maddie Ziegler and Hollywood star Kate Hudson in prominent roles. Actor, dancer and model Maddie, who has earlier worked with Sia on hit singles like ‘Chandelier’ and ‘Elastic Heart’ among others, plays the role of an autistic teenager in the film.

The movie trailer had earlier got thumbs down from social media users as they did not shy to slam the 44-year-old singer for not roping-in a person with autism for the role. Now, after the release of her movie, Sia is making headlines again for the wrong reasons. The singer, who is famous for hiding her face with huge wigs in order to protect her privacy, is being dragged down for roping-in Maddie on her every project. Social media users claim she is apparently obsessed with Maddie. 

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Why was Maddie Ziegler cast in ‘Music’?

The casting of Maddie in the movie ‘Music’ irked many viewers. Sia had earlier defended the decision of casting Maddie in her directorial debut as she was not a neurotypical individual which the role demanded. She had faced a lot of heat from social media users even after she tried her best to make them understand in her multiple tweets that she did try hiring a person with autism. While replying to a tweet, she said, “I actually tried working with a beautiful young girl non-verbal on the spectrum and she found it unpleasant and stressful. So that’s why I cast Maddie.”

In another tweet, the Grammy nominee asserted, “The character was pretty low functioning and after attempting a few actors on the spectrum they suggested I use Maddie.” She added that she “spent three f**king years researching” the project, which is why she was “so f**king bummed” by the criticism.

She also mentioned, “I cast thirteen neuroatypical people, three trans folk, and not as f**king prostitutes or drug addicts but as doctors, nurses and singers,” adding, “F**king sad nobody’s even seen the dang movie. My heart has always been in the right place.” The scandal makes us wonder what really is Sia's relationship with Maddie.

Sia and Maddie Ziegler's relationship

Back in 2015, Maddie Ziegler said in an interview with EW, “I met Sia last year. She tweeted me, and she was like, ‘I’m a big fan of the show, and I would like you to be in the video for my new song, Chandelier.'”

She added, “When Sia walked in—she was at the rehearsal place—I was nervous. I didn’t know what to expect from her, because there’s obviously pictures of her when she was younger, and videos, but there wasn’t any new pictures of her, because she hasn’t shown her face in a while. So I didn’t know what to expect, but the second she saw me, she just ran and gave me a big hug. We just felt like we knew each other, really.”

Talking about how often the two meet, Maddie added, “Every time I’m in LA, we meet up, or we’re doing a performance somewhere together... But we really have become a family. We really have.”

Speaking to HuffPost in an interview in early 2020, Sia had earlier said that she was like a bodyguard to Maddie. Opening about her relationship with the young lady, Sia asserted, “As soon as I met Maddie, I felt this extreme desire to protect her and I think that it was part of my own healing. I felt just extreme compulsion to protect her and yet the irony is that I didn’t want to be famous and I threw this child into the spotlight and she would say to me, ‘Don’t be silly, I was already famous and I wanted to be famous.’ And I say, ‘And you know it can stop at any time right? If you want it to stop, I can make it stop. You can just go back to being a normal person again.’”

She also recalled an incident where she once protected Maddie from Harvey Weinstein, who is currently serving a 23-year prison sentence for committing a “criminal sexual act” and third-degree rape. “I kept her off a plane that Harvey Weinstein tried to get her on. I know that there’s been times when my insight has really made a difference ... That was really disgusting.”

Why is Sia being slammed for the movie now?

For the unversed, the newly-released Sia’s movie, ‘Music’, tells the story of Zu, played by Kate Hudson, a drug dealer who is trying to say sober. Things fall out of place when she is named the sole legal guardian of her autistic half-sister, Music played by Maddie.

Speaking in a video interview with The Project in January 2021 as reported by the website Cheatsheet, Sia had said about Maddie, “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.’ I bold-facedly said, ‘I won’t let that happen.’”

Sia added, “Last week I realized I couldn’t really protect her from that, which I thought I could. I realize that there are some things I can’t protect her from as much as I try.” Now, when the movie got released, fans started talking about how obsessed she is with Maddie when the young actor did not even want to be part of the film.  

Here are some videos you can check out. 

‘Sia is creepily obsessed with Maddie’

Many social media users rushed to Twitter to slam Sia over her relationship with Maddie. One user said, “Sia's relationship with Maddie is extremely weird. Why is someone in their forties obsessed with and calling a child their best friend.” Another stated, “Sia is creepily obsessed with Maddie. She's in every project Sia does, and has been since she was like 11. she even said they sleep in the same bed together or something ??”

The next one posted, “I’m sorry WHAT. I’ve always believed that Sia has been grooming Maddie but if it has gone to that extent, someone needs to investigate a bit further and intervene right away. Her relationship with Maddie, a child, has always bothered me.”

One individual tweeted, “I really hope people remember that Sia is the one to go after about Music. Maddie Ziegler's performance is offensive & horrible but it's also one that she truly had no control over. Sia is the face of this entire thing and people need to place their energy onto her.” Another shared, “Please do not target Maddie Ziegler, there has been documented proof that she was manipulated by Sia into being in Music. There is definitely some sort of abuse going on.”

One added, “I want s*a career to be over. This movie is anti-autism, ableist, and racist.  Also pressuring Maddie, a teenager, to do the movie when she said multiple times she didn’t want to and also was uncomfortable. It’s causing more harm to the autistic community and she knows it!” while one concluded, “Her movie is abt an autistic kid, and she's forced Maddie into the role who don't have autism.. I saw a clip and it's like a borderline caricature it's so mocking and ableist. I think she put Maddie in blackface too but I'm not sure cos of the quality of the clip.” 

Read all the tweets here: