Sia: Kathy Griffin saved my life

Cheap Thrills singer Sia recently revealed that she had a tough time dealing with the backlash she received for her directorial debut Music so much so that she felt suicidal and went to rehabAs per Variety the hitmaker as a part of a profile on comedian Kathy Griffin recently told The New York Times that she entered rehab after coming under fire for not casting an autistic actor for the lead role in the movieSia recently told the outlet as part of this weeks Kathy Griffin profile I was suicidal and relapsed and went to rehabThe musician credited Griffin for helping her recover after Griffin convinced her to go out to a Hollywood restaurant last fall The dinner date was strategic as Griffin knew the duo would be captured by paparazzi at the restaurant The goal was to generate healthier media buzz months after the outrage As Sia said She saved my lifeSia faced heavy criticism over her decision to cast neurotypical actor and dancer Maddie Ziegler in the lead role of Music Gamble a nonverbal autistic teenage girlZiegler and Sia had previously worked together on the singers videos for Chandelier and Elastic Heart Several members of the autism community condemned Music over Zeiglers casting and the portrayal of autism in the movieThe backlash against the film intensified after it earned two 2021 Golden Globe nominations The film was nominated for Best Motion Picture Musical or Comedy and for Best Actress Motion Picture Comedy or Musical for Kate Hudson but won neitherSeveral actors with autism spoke out against the movie in an interview with performer Ashley Wool calling Sias movie something thats doing active harm to peopleActor Chloe Hayden added that Sias casting is undermining autistic peoples capabilities and making us out to be infants Second if your film is about inclusion but youre not making the actual film set inclusive it completely belittles the entire pointSia originally defended Zieglers casting ahead of the films release telling Australias 10 News First that she actually tried working with a beautiful young girl nonverbal on the spectrum but found it unpleasant and stressful because the character as written was too demandingIn the film Music is at the centre of elaborate fantastical dance sequences which is why Sia believed Ziegler was the right actor for the jobThe character is based completely on my neuroatypical friend Sia added He found it too stressful being nonverbal and I made this movie with nothing but love for him and his motherFollowing the films Golden Globe nominations in February 2021 Sia announced the movie would be released with a warningI promise I have been listening she wrote on TwitterShe added 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 specialize in sensory processing who can be consulted to explain safe ways to provide proprioceptive deeppressure feedback to help with meltdown safetySia then tweeted Im sorry an apology presumably aimed at the members of the autism community who took issue with her filmMeanwhile Music star Kate Hudson told Jimmy Kimmel around the same time that the movie was generating an important conversation to haveI think when people see the film you know that they will see the amount of love and sensitivity that was put into it Hudson saidHudson added When I hear that anybody feels left out I feel terribleIts not a sound bite conversation Its an ongoing important dialogue to be had about neurotypical actors portraying neurodivergent charactersIt should be a continuous conversationIn Music Hudson played the role of Zu a newly sober drug dealer who becomes the guardian of her autistic halfsister Music Ziegler after the death of her grandmother Zu struggles to take care of Music but is helped by their neighbour Ebo Leslie Odom JrThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever