Controversy Over Casting Choice in Film about Teenager with Autism
Maddie Ziegler, who plays the title character in the new film Music, performs in the music video for “Together,” a song from the motion picture.
Photo from the “Together” music video.
Sia, a pop singer and songwriter from Australia, has received backlash after releasing a trailer for her new film, Music, on Twitter. Written and directed by Sia, Music tells the story of an older sister learning to care for her non-verbal sister, the title character, who is on the autism spectrum and communicates with others through her music.
Music, the younger sister, is played by Maddie Ziegler, an 18-year-old actress and dancer initially known for her performances in “Dance Moms,” who stars alongside Kate Hudson and Leslie Odom Jr.
Sia’s tweet, posted on Thursday, November 19, immediately attracted criticism from members of and advocates for the autism community, who took issue with the decision to cast Ziegler, a neurotypical actress, as a character with autism.
Irish actress Bronagh Waugh responded directly to Sia’s tweet: “Hi Sia, can I ask why you didn't cast a disabled actor for this part? It’s pretty offensive the way you've chosen to portray this character. People with disabilities are … the most under-represented and inaccurately represented group in our society. This kind of inaccurate, offensive representation causes so much pain.”
Another Twitter user echoed this sentiment: “Incredibly disappointing to see yet another misrepresentation of neurodivergent people. What an incredibly wasted opportunity to showcase autistic talent, and share an authentic story from that community.”
Sia has defended her film and the casting choice. In response to the above tweet, she said, “I’m so confused. The character is based completely on my neuro atypical friend. He found it too stressful being non verbal, and I made this movie with nothing but love for him and his mother.”
She tweeted that she spent three years conducting research for Music, and defended herself by sharing that she cast 13 neuroatypical people as doctors, nurses and singers in the film.
The singer wrote that she decided on Ziegler only after first attempting to cast an unnamed actress with autism, describing her choice as the “compassionate” one. “I actually tried working with a a beautiful young girl non verbal on the spectrum and she found it unpleasant and stressful. So that’s why I cast Maddie.”
One actress on the spectrum tweeted that several actors with autism have said they would have been available to participate in the film on short notice. “These excuses are just that– excuses,” she wrote. “The fact of the matter is zero effort was made to include anyone who is actually autistic.”
Sia’s response was short, harsh and widely condemned: “Maybe you’re just a bad actor.”
Those criticizing Music have employed the hashtags #NothingAboutUsWithoutUs and #ActuallyAutistic to highlight their demands to include the voices of people with disabilities and center their perspectives in the media.
This controversy represents the latest failure to include people with any sort of disabilities in the entertainment industry, following years of both misrepresentation and utter lack of representation. A 2016 study found that 95 percent of television characters with disabilities are played by non-disabled actors.
Sia “ignored the first tenet of working in good faith, and that's including the people you're trying to portray,” wrote one Twitter user. “There's a reason #NothingAboutUsWithoutUs is the slogan of disability rights - because we are so often left out of the discussion about ourselves.”