Australian singer-songwriter Sia has shut down her twitter account after receiving criticism over her debut film ‘Music’.
People Are Concerned
Before deleting her account, the artist said that she has “been listening” to the criticism surrounding the film’s portrayal of a nonverbal autistic person, played by Maddie Ziegler, who does not have autism.
A clip from the movie that’s gone viral on social media, which features Kate Hudson, who plays as the main character’s sister and caretaker, using a dangerous type of restraint on Maddie‘s character.
Communication First, a group run by and for non speaking people with disabilities, stated that Sia’s team “reached out and briefly engaged” with it “before restraint scenes from the film were leaked” on social media, and communication ended after “a committee of nonspeaking and autistic people were invited to screen the film last week,” making additional recommendations.
“MUSIC’s restraint scenes will undoubtedly cause harm to autistic people. Because many autistic people have experienced restraint, some will be traumatized by watching the film” said Tauna Szymanski, executive director of Communication First.
Her Response
In a series of since-deleted tweets, Sia said the film will now be preceded with a warning that reads:
“Music in no way condones or recommends the use of restraint on autistic people. There are autistic occupational therapists that specialize in sensory processing who can be consulted to explain safe ways to provide proprioceptive, deep-pressure feedback to help with meltdown safety.”
She then tweeted: “I’m sorry,” and said she plans to remove the restraint scenes from future prints. “I listened to the wrong people,” she said, “and that is my responsibility, my research was clearly not thorough enough, not wide enough.”
The musician’s debut film “Music” earned two Golden Globe nominations: one for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy and one for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy.
