FACE THE MUSIC

Sia Says She Was ‘Suicidal’ After Backlash to Her Directorial Debut

The Australian singer said she entered rehab shortly after the debacle last year.

Australian pop singer-songwriter Sia has revealed she entered rehab following the release of her controversial movie musical Music. The musician, stepping into the director’s chair for the first time, was slammed for her depiction of an autistic nonverbal character, as well as her choice to cast neurotypical performer Maddie Ziegler in the role rather than an autistic actor. “I was suicidal and relapsed and went to rehab,” Sia told The New York Times as part of a profile of comedian Kathy Griffin. Griffin, she added, helped her weather the period. “She saved my life.” Sia said Griffin helped build positive media buzz for the singer, inviting her out to a strategically timed restaurant dinner, where she knew they’d be caught by paparazzi. Upon its release last February, Music was condemned by critics and disability rights activists as “a baffling and patronizing cringefest of ableist minstrelsy.”