‘Cheap Thrills’ singer Sia reveals she has been diagnosed with autism, two years after film backlash

Australian singer-filmmaker Sia, who faced backlash for her depiction of autism in the film ‘Music’, has announced that she is on the autism spectrum. Speaking to Rob Has A Podcast, which discusses the US reality show ‘Survivor’, the star said her diagnosis had brought a sense of relief.

‘I’m on the spectrum. 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,’ Sia added.

Sia, whose full name is Sia Furler, is best known for hits like ‘Chandelier’, ‘Titanium’ and ‘Cheap Thrills’.

She made her directorial debut in 2021 with ‘Music’, which was about a woman who becomes the sole carer for her half-sister, a teenager with non-verbal autism. The singer faced a lot of criticism for casting the neuro-typical actress Maddie Ziegler, who had appeared in several of her music videos, in the main role.

Earlier, Sia defended her film, saying it was ‘completely’ based on the experiences of a ‘neuro-atypical friend’. However, when the film was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards in 2021, she issued a series of apologies on Twitter before deleting her account altogether.
‘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 stated at the time. She further said that a warning card would be added to the film, saying that it ‘in no way condones or recommends the use of restraint on autistic people’.

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