Sia snaps at autistic actor who questioned why no autistic people were included in her new film

[whoisit]

This article really says what i was thinking

https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2020/11/10183141/sia-music-trailer-maddie-ziegler-autism-speaks-controversy

[DarkOut]

26 minutes ago, whoisit said:

It’s offensive to cast a non autistic person especially since roles for autistic people are scarce, autistic people also are a minority so they deserve also respect.

This I'm not sure I understand as an autistic person, myself. I'm sure you don't mean that autistic actors are expected to only play autistic characters?

That segues well into my general reply, so here goes.  

I know much more about autism and being autistic than I know about the production history of this film, but from what I've read, I've gathered some more info than others here... Apparently the Maddie role originally went to an autistic teen, and for some reason I don't know, the filming/set/something was too much FOR HER ... so Sia defaulted to Maddie after brief auditions rejecting autistic applicants (for whatever reason, though Sia implied she did not like their auditions, but that's speculation). It seems she made judgments about autistic people in general, or autistic actors or whatnot, from that ONE, YOUNG actress. (I do think a YA actress might have handled the work better.) 

If those autistic actors were not favored by this crew, know that doesn't reflect on other autistic performers, creatives and beyond.

Ironically? Maybe fittingly, Maddie's performance in the trailer did NOT impress me. It does not appear that she had good coaching. I don't think she's ready to stretch these particular acting muscles yet.

I'm an autistic person (who happens to be very passionate about performing, which used to include acting and still includes aspects of it like playing with accents and much more) who does not think an autistic character necessarily needs to be played by an autistic actor. The "allistic" (not autistic) actor needs great coaching by at least one autistic person, though! The film in general needs autistic people involved in consulting and ideally writing. "Research" is not enough and Sia proved that by apparently working with Momtism $quawks, I mean, "Autism $peaks," but more on that later. Research can sometimes lead us astray with misinformation.

Unfortunately, the arguments centered around casting deflect from more important issues, although I encountered a few enlightening arguments about the finer points. One person suggested non-verbal people should be heavily considered when portraying a non-verbal character. My problem with that (and this kept me lying awake in bed obsessing over this) is ... do non-verbal autistic people even *want* to be actors??? Obviously they'll face extra limitations and there wouldn't be enough non-verbal roles to sustain a career. Acting (not being an extra) can include a lot of talking. Still, there was a point deep in there, about how it's SO hard for a person SO different to understand the other.

Actors should be passionate about immersing themselves, fully learning, obsessing, BECOMING and NEVER just "researching." That's not enough. (And hey, you know who flippin' LOVES obsessively learning everything about a subject? Autistic people, hmm, they might make good actors.)

Perhaps one major point people wanted to get to is that autistic actors should be considered for more roles, period. The problem is that our society is discriminatory, so autistic people hope that a project with "good intentions" will help us out and throw us meaty bones.

Back to Momtism $peaks...  I want you all to learn about this or just heed this warning. "Autism Speaks" is a dangerous group looking out for the interests of those who feel burdened by actually autistic people. The group wants to speak OVER autistic people, quieting their actual needs and viewpoints. We autistic people consider Autism $peaks a hate group, and please hear our voices about that ... and beyond.

[sugarspiceandnice]

23 hours ago, OnlyBeyonce said:

yes a movie isn't a documentary or a reality 

But Isn’t that what your generation is into? Trash TV like the Hills?
gen zumba literally doesn’t care  it’s u

Spoiler

Tell Beyoncé that I want her to reunite and create a collab album with Latoya of destiny’s child 

 

[Seductive]

Lmao her response is PURE gold. Epic clap back.

[OnlyBeyonce]

1 hour ago, sugarspiceandnice said:

But Isn’t that what your generation is into? Trash TV like the Hills?
gen zumba literally doesn’t care  it’s u

  Hide contents

Tell Beyoncé that I want her to reunite and create a collab album with Latoya of destiny’s child 

 

at least my generation know what is the role of an actor 

[Danielle1987]

People have forgotten what acting means 

[Danielle1987]

1 minute ago, OnlyBeyonce said:

at least my generation know what is the role of an actor 

[The Exhale Psychic]

i cant believe some of you are defending her. THIS IS OFFENSIVE AND WRONG

[The Exhale Psychic]

i am really uncomfortable with this film. and the whole thing in general 

[The Exhale Psychic]

i have to go through things like this every single day of my life. i have had enough

[OnlyBeyonce]

7 minutes ago, Britney-fan12332143 said:

i cant believe some of you are defending her. THIS IS OFFENSIVE AND WRONG

what is offensive?   to act? to be an actor and play a role different from your real you? 

[whoisit]

4 minutes ago, OnlyBeyonce said:

what is offensive?   to act? to be an actor and play a role different from your real you? 

You can compare this of casting a white person into a role for people of color, which i’m glad is changing because they deserve every respect too.

Can you now get the offense. Autistic people are a minority too. They deserve the same respect and they could have found a autistic actor who could do the job but sia has a favoritism for maddy ziegler and uses her for almost any project. 

the way sia responded in such a disrespectful way and not even listening to over 100 people who felt offended and kept making half excuses for her poor behavior and judgement is what made me the most mad, not even the choice for maddy but more of how she handled the backlash.

[OnlyBeyonce]

2 minutes ago, whoisit said:

You can compare this of casting a white person into a role for people of color, which i’m glad is changing because they deserve every respect too.

Can you now get the offense. Autistic people are a minority too. They deserve the same respect and they could have found a autistic actor who could do the job but sia has a favoritism for maddy ziegler and uses her for almost any project. 

the way sia responded in such a disrespectful way and not even listening to over 100 people who felt offended and kept making half excuses for her poor behavior and judgement is what made me the most mad, not even the choice for maddy but more of how she handled the backlash.

you can't compare the skin color to this.
What's the point to cast an autistic actor to play an autistic person? there is no need to act.

This is a movie and not a documentary

[whoisit]

1 minute ago, OnlyBeyonce said:

you can't compare the skin color to this.
What's the point to cast an autistic actor to play an autistic person? there is no need to act.

This is a movie and not a documentary

It offends me that you think that, autistic people get overlooked way too much while with some small tricks/adjustments they can work like a normal human being.
 

a movie can be a huge tool in getting more acceptance in this discriminatory world.

so it shouldn’t matter if it’s a movie or a documentary. They deserve the same chances.

[OnlyBeyonce]

1 minute ago, whoisit said:

It offends me that you think that, autistic people get overlooked way too much while with some small tricks/adjustments they can work like a normal human being.
 

a movie can be a huge tool in getting more acceptance in this discriminatory world.

so it shouldn’t matter if it’s a movie or a documentary. They deserve the same chances.

people scream "this offende me" every single second so it lost any meaning at this point 

this isn't a documentary but is a movie so a non autistic actor have to right to play that role 

 

[whoisit]

49 minutes ago, OnlyBeyonce said:

people scream "this offende me" every single second so it lost any meaning at this point 

this isn't a documentary but is a movie so a non autistic actor have to right to play that role 

 

if the story can’t be told with the use of a real authentic autistic actor you might not want to start filming in the first place it will always cause the wrong representation in the end and not the real deal. 

[sugarspiceandnice]

1 hour ago, OnlyBeyonce said:

at least my generation know what is the role of an actor 

 

[sugarspiceandnice]

On 11/20/2020 at 4:11 PM, Sia said:

Good for her!

Oh shut up Sia, why are you speaking in third person? Delete the tweet already we don’t care that you agree with yourself   Just release the damn album 

[sugarspiceandnice]

comment removed 

[GregReid]

I mean... I have an autistic sister and from my life experience, that is certainly not how I would speak to her if that was the case because that would absolutely break my sisters heart and be detrimental to her mental health if I'm honest.

Everyone is different but I find that my autistic sister is extremely sensitive and wouldn't take this statement on well AT ALL! It would have absolutely sent her down a downward spiral and she would hate herself, if I'm honest.

But that's just me.