Photo: Kris Krug at https://www.flickr.com/photos/kk · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Born in Australia · Nationality Australian — Culture / media / celebrities
Documented profile covering 8 controversies, including “Casting non-autistic Maddie Ziegler in the lead role of 'Music'” and “Criticism over the use of Autism Speaks as a resource or consultant for the film”.
Profile No. 2870 · Updated on 12 October 2026
§ Legal statuses reflect the documented sources as of the date shown; they replace neither court decisions nor the presumption of innocence. Counts are not a rating. Methodology
November 2020–2021
The trailer for 'Music', Sia's first feature film as director, provokes strong criticism from autistic people and disabled actors over the casting of Maddie Ziegler, who is not autistic, to play a non-speaking autistic teenager.
Last verified: 17 September 2026
2020–2021
Autistic activists criticise the involvement or consultation of Autism Speaks around 'Music', an organisation itself criticised by part of the autistic community for its historical representation and governance.
Last verified: 17 September 2026
February 2021
Following a further wave of criticism, particularly over scenes showing the autistic character physically held down on the floor, Sia apologises, says she 'listened to the wrong people', announces a warning and promises to remove the restraint scenes from future versions.
Last verified: 17 September 2026
February 2021
After Sia announces a warning and the removal of restraint scenes, activists report on release that the version then available had not yet been re-edited and did not include the promised warning, reigniting the campaign against the film.
Last verified: 17 September 2026
April 2021
The film 'Music' receives several Golden Raspberry Awards, including Worst Director for Sia, after months of criticism of its portrayal of autism. The result becomes a public marker of the film's very negative reception.
Last verified: 17 September 2026
November 2020
During the controversy over 'Music', Sia responds sharply to several critics. To an autistic actress who says autistic performers would have accepted the role, she responds, notably, 'Maybe you're just a bad actor', before defending the film in other angry messages.
Last verified: 17 September 2026
January 2015
The 'Elastic Heart' video features Maddie Ziegler, then aged 12, and Shia LaBeouf, 28, wearing flesh-coloured leotards in a physical choreography. Some viewers interpret it as sexualising a minor or evoking paedophilia. Sia apologises to those triggered by the images and explains that the two performers embody conflicting inner states.
Last verified: 17 September 2026
2011, relaté publiquement en 2013 et après
Sia recounts that her demo vocal for 'Titanium' was retained on the track and released by David Guetta without, she says, her prior agreement to that version. She says she learnt of the release on Twitter and was initially furious, before acknowledging that its success ultimately benefited her.
Last verified: 17 September 2026
Documented biographical or institutional milestones (elections, appointments, foundings, acquisitions…). These are not controversies and are not counted as such.
Sia publicly states that she is herself 'on the spectrum'. The disclosure comes two years after the controversy over 'Music' and is widely covered as new context for the debate about the portrayal of autism in her film.
Two profiles are linked when a documented controversy of one names the other. The link points to that controversy and its sources; it does not indicate a personal relationship.
A new court decision, a missing source, a mistake? Tell us what should be updated: every request is read by the editorial team.
Controversia checks and updates its profiles independently. Support is optional and has no effect on the content of profiles.
DonateSearch covers names and aliases — not the content of profiles.