Entertainment
Kate Hudson speaks out on Sia’s Music film controversy: ‘It is an important conversation to have’
Kate Hudson has spoken out about the controversy surrounding Sia’s film Music after fans slammed it for casting Maddie Ziegler as an autistic character.
The film stars Kate as a recovering addict who becomes a carer for her autistic half-sister, but Sia had been criticised for her ‘ableist’ casting of Maddie as the neurodivergent character instead of an actor with autism.
The film was also criticised for featuring scenes in which the character is restrained in a physical position which has caused injuries and even death in reality.
Kate discussed the backlash on Jimmy Kimmel Live, saying: ‘For me, when I hear that there’s anybody that feels left out. I feel terrible.
‘I think when people see the film they will see the amount of love and sensitivity that was put into it, but it is an important conversation to have – not just about this movie, but as a whole about representation.’
She added: ‘I think it’s an ongoing important dialogue to be had about neurotypical actors portraying neurodivergent characters [and] with people who are experts and really know how to engage in the conversation. I encourage it, really and truly. Just to say – we are listening.’
The film also attracted a petition which has been signed by over 95,000 people calling for its two Golden Globe nominations to be rescinded.
Sia apologised for some of the content in Music and before deleting her Twitter account, she assured her followers that the restraint scenes would come with a warning and also be removed from future releases.
She wrote: ‘I promise, have been listening. The motion picture Music will, moving forward, have this warning at the head of the movie.’
The warning read: ‘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 w meltdown safety.’
She added: ‘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, not wide enough. I’m sorry.’
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