Sia Reveals Mental Health Struggles After Her Rehab Following Music Film Backlash, Says a Friend Helps Pull Her out of Depression

In a new interview, Sia spoke out about the toll that the public criticism to her film "Music" took on her. Kathy Griffin, the singer's friend, was the one who helped her heal, she told a news site. To make more good news, the 61-year-old comic scheduled a "dinner date" with Sia at a prominent Los Angeles restaurant.

On Wednesday, January 19, the 46-year-old artist told The New York Times, "I was suicidal and relapsed and went to treatment."

Sia says Kathy Griffin helped her during the 2021 movie backlash

"Music" was also chastised by some autistic people for incorporating a sequence in which the titular character is held while having a meltdown. Sia apologized and promised that the controversial moment will be removed from all subsequent "printings" of the film in the future.

In February 2021, during an interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Kate Hudson, who received a Golden Globe nod for her role in "Music," also defended the picture, according to US Magazine. Following the controversy from her film "Music" which was released in 2021, Sia believes Kathy Griffin helped her deal with her mental health issues.

The autism community was offended by Sia's film because she hired Maddie Ziegler, a neurotypical actor, in the role of an autistic character and showed sequences in which the kid was confined. Griffin, who faced similar anger after holding a mask of former US President Donald Trump drenched in blood-red ketchup in a 2017 picture, claims she got close to her.

A huge backlash erupted after the release of "Music" in early 2021, prompting her to remove her Twitter account and include a disclaimer at the opening of the film. In the film, Music (Ziegler) is a young autistic lady who is taken in by her half-sister Zu (Kate Hudson) (Mary Kay Place). With the aid of Music's neighbor Ebo, Zu learns everything there is to know about Music's everyday routine (Leslie Odom Jr.), as per USA Today.

'Music' film sparked outcry in the autistic community

Sia wrote and directed 'Music,' a film about an autistic kid, but she was chastised by disability rights campaigners for starring Maddie Ziegler, who was not on the autism spectrum. The film, which also starred Kate Hudson, was nominated for two Golden Globes and four Golden Raspberry Awards at that year's Golden Raspberry Awards.

The film's portrayal of so-called soothing restraints has been criticized by advocates for the autistic community, with a focus on the depiction of so-called calming restraints.

Actress Chloé Hayden, one of Sia's autistic performers, argued that hiring Ziegler "undermined autistic people's skills and made us out to be infants" in a statement. "I cast thirteen neuroatypical individuals, three trans people, and not as prostitutes or drug addicts, but as physicians, nurses, and singers," Sia said at the time, defending her casting decisions.

Sia, on the other hand, backtracked and eventually apologized for her actions before deactivating her Twitter account. Griffin's comedy tour was canceled at the time, and she was fired from her CNN New Year's Eve hosting assignment as a result of her photograph, Page Six reported.