Really funny cuz she was a fan of our show. So, as soon as she saw me, she came up and like she was like screaming. She was like, “i can’t believe i’m actually hugging you right now.” she’s a really big pop star. And i didn’t think that she would even know who i was. This is the first time you’ve been on the show many times, but this is the first time you’re you.
and i have like real hair. Real hair. Real clothes. You’re not kind of half naked. People didn’t like the video. Elastic heart. It was gross because we were dirty and i had to bite his dirty hands. I kept handing him the shot. He’s like, “i don’t need them.” like, “yes, you do. You need them.” so, sea releases this movie about an autistic character.
let’s see who the main character is. What autistic actor did you hire? Then you get the trailer and it is maddie ziggler. And she just burst into tears and she just said, “i don’t want anyone to think that i’m making fun of them.” i was like, i promise i won’t let that happen. I actually just keep writing projects for her so that i can keep her safe.
now, the other day, i was watching dance mom’s clips on tik tok because jojo siwa posted saying she regrets nothing, and i was instantly fed a non-stop feed of maddie zegler’s lowest points on the hit reality television show. Now, a lot of you may already know about the intense nature of competitive children’s dance and the borderline abusive nature of the hit lifetime star factory, but today i’m talking about a completely different type of a facilitated from the dance mom’s platform. I’m going to be diving
Deep into one of the most bizarre, alarming, and in my opinion, predatory relationships that sprouted from the worldwide reality television phenomenon. Cia’s relationship with mattie ziegler. Just how cia selected maddie to star in her most controversial music video to date.
how maddie and her mother left all trust in cia only for her to feed them to the wolves through one of the worst scripts ever written. And just how a trusted adult celebrity mentor led a young maddie zaggler completely astray and effectively ruined the young star’s career before it even had a chance to begin. This episode of chaotic web is sponsored by scentbird.
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now, let’s start at the beginning. Mattie ziegler joined abby lee miller’s dance company at only 4 years old. And by seven, she was already earning national titles and appearing on paula abdul’s dance competition show. In 2011, however, mattiey’s life would change forever. See, abby miller had been in talks with lifetime to bring the drama and quarrels of the mothers behind the scenes to the forefront of the small screen.
in an allnew tv show on lifetime, they were titling dance moms. It made absolute sense for maddie and her mother to appear on the show as maddie was one of the best dancers in abby lee’s entire company and abby in general always favored her. Now with the premiere of dance moms, what audiences were treated to was beyond their wildest imaginations.
young girls being biraated in very public settings by their mothers and other mothers alike. All in the spirit of competitive dance. The show dance moms really took the curtain down and showed the world what it was like to be a family that competes in children’s competitive dance. How grueling, precise, and difficult to manage the extracurricular activity truly was.
the show was an instant hit, and maddie and the other girls immediately began blowing up as huge stars, not only for their talents, but for their intense mother’s combat ways. Now, this tv show was extremely popular and caught the attention of tons of celebrities who would actually end up appearing on the show.
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one of these such celebrities was the elusive and mysterious songwriter cia. Now, cia is one of the most talented, accomplished, and critically acclaimed songwriters the world has ever seen. From her unique take on chord progression to her enchanting and whimsical descriptions that truly paints a complete scene and story for any particular song, cia has been creating worldwide chart topping hits for the past two decades.
Whether you know her from her collaborations with french dj david geta or her own solo projects. By 2023, cia has most likely crossed your radar as an elusive and mysterious pop star who most notably covers her face. Cia somewhat rejects fame and always has, but it hasn’t always been so extreme. In her early days, cia displayed her face prominently in her work, gaining her first taste and success in 2005 when her 2003 song breathe me was used as the ending for the cult classic tv show 6 feet under. This caused the song to gain
Moderate success, and sia’s career was on the upswing. The same, however, couldn’t be said for her personal life. Uncomfortable in the spotlight, the sia relied heavily on alcohol to get her through live shows whilst on her us tour, and later became addicted to anti-depressants and pain medication, including xanax and oxycottton after being diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
Over the next 5 years, cia’s career was riddled with substances and heartbreak. When breathe me became a moderate success for her in 2005, she said it never stopped her thoughts. Sadly, her battle with alcoholism and depression intensified. After her boyfriend was hit by a taxi driver and killed, just days before she was due to visit him in london, 2 months before her september 2010 suicide attempt, cia phoned her dealer and ordered two of everything except me and him.
she planned to check herself into a hotel and take all the pills she had, writing letters to both the maid and the hotel manager that read, “please do not come in. I am deep inside. Please call an ambulance. Fortunately, an old friend called her before she went through with anything. Cia stating there must have been part of me that really wanted to live because in that moment, i thought there’s a world out there and i’m not a part of it, but i might like to be.
she left in instructions for her dog walker and the hotel manager writing, “i’ve killed myself and i don’t want you to have to suffer seeing my body.” according to complex, cia said she tried to kill herself by taking 22 valium and drinking a whole bottle of vodka. Cia stating, “unfortunately, you can only commit sleep on valium.
” or should i say fortunately, cia paints the picture of fame like a prison. Explaining, “it’s horrible. I just wanted to have a private life.” once, as my friend was telling me they had cancer, someone came up and asked in the middle of the conversation if they could take a photograph with me. Thus, cia was never interested in the traditional celebrity lifestyle and actively rejected it.
by 2010, sia had released her fifth studio album under her own name and more importantly, face. But she wanted more. So, in 2010, sia would put her solo career on hold. Instead, sia decided to harness the skill of writing her own songs and put that skill to use for other artists. Beginning with alicia keys and david geta, cia would send a demo of a song she wrote for them called titanium.
however, alicia keys would never actually record the song. So, david just released the song with cia’s original demo vocals over the top. Neither cia nor david knew how ginormous this song would become and currently be to this day. The concept, the lyrical concept came from cia. You know, cia was doing some super indie music.
she was at a point of her life that uh she didn’t want to be an artist anymore and uh she just wanted to do songwriting because she didn’t want to have this lifestyle, the touring, the promo, all of this. She was respected in some areas of the world, but she was not super famous. And then titanium, she came with those insane lyrics.
i’m not giving this record to anyone, and i’m keeping this record for myself. And conclusion number two, please stay on the record because i already know no one can beat this. I really had to beg her and almost force her and and you know, she’s like, “no, i don’t want this.” so, we agreed on yes, she’s going to stay on the record, but she will not do any promo.
she will not do any interview. She will not be in the video, and she will not have to tour or support the record in any way cuz all she wants is write songs, stay home, and have a quiet life. It’s really funny when you think about it and what became her career after that. Titanium grew into an international smash hit for david and cia alike and immediately put cia into an entirely different stratosphere.
cia was now very quickly amassing an extremely impressive roster of collaborators, writing some of the most prolific pop songs of all time over the course of the next 3 years. It was clear sea was a visionary and with all the songwriting credits she was amassing, seia’s name was the name on every producers’s lips.
and with smash hits like diamonds, pretty hurts, and perfume, it was no wonder why. This is when cia would begin her mysterious descent into privacy and obscurity. What the public didn’t know is these clips were some of the final times they would see sia’s unobstructed face ever again, at least for many, many years. So, it’s 2011.
cia’s finally living her dream in lucrative obscurity like she had always dreamed of, and she completely withdrew from public life. This gave her the best of both worlds as she was able to remain somewhat private and still create music for the masses. As the days turned into weeks and weeks turned into years, cia gained more and more popularity.
thus, there was a vested interest from record labels in seia’s own personal music career. However, seia was enjoying creating music in private, not having to be blinded by the spotlight 24/7. That’s when she conjured up the concept of a somewhat anonymous approach to pop music. Much like the djs of the early 2000s, sia’s new persona would completely evade the need for a public image and instead would rely on heavily covering her own face in the most shocking way possible.
often having her bangs cover her eyes, quite often adorned with multiple headpieces and fascinators. However, this is when cia would enlist the help of a young 12-year-old maddie zaggler to help launch her new image. See, sia is a reality tv super fan cuz i watch television almost incessantly. I sleep about 7 8 to 10 12 sometimes hours.
um but all the rest of the time i’m watching television. Um and uh i rarely leave the house even before quarantine. Even gifting someone on survivor thousands of dollars for keeping a chicken alive during the entire season. So needless to say, the woman is glued to her tv. And in 2014, one of the biggest shows on lifetime was dance moms. And cia was clearly a huge fan.
Cia would go as far as to contact the mothers of one of the young girls on the show to appear in her chandelier video in lie of herself, publicly tweeting at mattie ziegler, dancemom1313. Hey maddie, you want to play me in the video for my new single? I was watching dance moms and i saw maddie and i thought she was incredible.
I cried when i watched something that she did and i thought if i can cry watching a kid do that kind of choreography that’s highly commercial then she must have something special. This absolutely blew up and fans were really shook when it actually came to fruition. Chandelier became a certified hit and the video was racking up millions and millions of views.
never thought that it would be so big and it was and every day got like one million views like more and more and more and i was whoa this is crazy and celebrities were starting to notice me and i’m like i just can’t believe it’s happening to me. I’m like i i just i don’t know it’s like flashing right before my eyes.
i’ve gotten so many more opportunities from this and just because of it everyone now when i go on the streets everyone’s always you know stopping me to ask for a picture or an autograph. And one of the show’s biggest fans just so happens to be sea. Really funny cuz she was a fan of our show.
so as soon as she saw me, she came up and like she was like screaming. She was like, “i can’t believe i’m actually hugging you right now.” it was just so funny because, you know, she’s a really big pop star and i didn’t think that she would even know who i was. And now everyone knows who maddie is, including ellen. This is the first time you’ve been on the show many times, but this is the first time you’re you.
and i have like real hair. Real hair. Real clothes. You’re not kind of half naked and stuff or looking like you’re naked, right? You’re amazing. I was 11 years old and then she was a fan of the show that i used to be on. And then she just contact what’s the show you? Uh, dance moms. And um, she just tweeted me from there.
and uh, she was just like, “hey.” um, she said to my mom, “i want to get in contact with your daughter. I want her to be my video.” and at the time, i didn’t really know who sia was as like as much as i do obviously now. Um, cuz i was still young and she didn’t show her face. And um so i i didn’t really have um a big understanding of who she was.
and then um yeah, i thought i was going to be swinging from chandelier. I had no clue what i was doing. And i had no expectations walking in. And like i literally thought i was going to be a background dancer and there would be other girls in the video, too. And i thought cia would be in the video, right? And then it was like just me and i was like feel the pressure. Wow.
Cia had a new album coming and another new single called elastic heart. And this is when she would take everything a step further and enlist troubled star shia labuff to appear in the video again alongside maddie. What came of this was cia’s most controversial music video to date. I’ve never danced with a much older guy like that before.
and it wasn’t like we were actually dancing together because we were like fighting each other. We were battling. We weren’t really like together during it. Maddie figured her cage dance with shia would create buzz, but not like this. Cia tweeted, quote, “i anticipated some feel your cries for this video. My intention was to create some emotional content, not to upset anybody.
i’m supposed to be portraying a werewolf and pretty much shia and i have been just living in the cage for like a year and i’m the strong one and i’m trying to pretty much him. Every time between takes they would come and say, “you need to be more aggressive. You need to bite him harder. You need to slap him harder.” and i’m like, “i can’t.
i don’t want to slap someone. That’s like scary.” and shia kept saying, “no, you need to you need to hit me as hard as you can. It’s not real until you hit me as hard as you can. Brian had worked with shia before on a sega ross video and uh he had heard that i was a big fan. So he said, “i think i can put you in touch with him.
” we sat in a coffee shop and she she basically walked me through what her trilogy idea is and i was walking her through sort of what my auxiliary art stuff was and ca probably picked me because i think uh she identifies with some aspect of my personality and that both push push boundaries a bit and i think we’re in this middle ground between pop and something else.
i also believe in like the healing power of art so her work is very cathartic. You listen to the album it’s just like reading a diary. We thought it would be interesting if he’s working with maddie as if she is one of his self states, maybe an inner child or maybe like one of his demons or that we switch between her representing some of his self states. It should be play.
i’m lucky because i can afford to play around and sometimes that work like you know being here to make art is some sort of redemptive thing for myself and uh for me i mean is completely selfish. I’m here all for selfish reasons. I don’t care if nobody ever sees the video, you know. Um, it’s a completely cathartic thing being here.
It’s genius and it creates controversy. Whether it’s good, whether it’s bad, whether you like it, whether you don’t like it, you’re talking about it. And to me, that’s success. But shia’s hygiene had to be kept in check during filming. It was gross because we were dirty and i had to bite his dirty hands.
i was so dirty. I kept wiping myself off and i kept handing them to shia. He’s like, “i don’t need them.” like, “yes, you do. You need them. I brought like perfume and everything. I didn’t want to smell. And he was like, “oh, i’m totally calm.” i don’t care. I’m like, “no, you he’s like, “then what should i bring?” i’m like, “a towel, a change of clothes, and a lot of baby wipes.” and he did.
he actually listened to me. So, i was like, “i’m sorry, but you kind of really dirty.” kind of scared me a little bit because he was like screaming and getting into character. I was like, i was like trying to start a conversation. I was like, “do you always do this?” and he and he was like doing push-ups on his knuckles and running around the cage.
Sia is speaking out following fka twig’s lawsuit against ex-boyfriend shia labuff. The chandelier singer supported her fellow music star in a pair of tweets over the weekend, calling fka twigs courageous for coming forward and also claiming that she had her own negative experience with the actor, writing, “i too have been hurt emotionally by shia, a pathological liar who conned me into an adulterous relationship claiming to be single.
i believe he’s very sick and have compassion for him and his victims. Just know if you love yourself, stay safe. Stay away.” cia and labbuff worked together when he co-starred in the music video for her 2015 song elastic heart. I’m nervous because this video is a little people had a lot of things to say about this video.
he was naked for a second. That freaked me out. That’s what everyone thinks. Why is he wrestling with a little girl? Okay, i’m playing a wolf. That’s what i was portraying in this music video. And people don’t know that. And that’s why i’m like growling and hissing and we’re kind of fighting during this whole thing.
so, it’s not like we’re wrestling. It’s really hard to explain. People did not expect this collaboration to happen. Like why would sia, maddie, and shia be doing a video together? I honestly was confused at first, like why she would bring in a non-dancer, but like now seeing it, i couldn’t picture it with anyone else. Please tell me they’re not don’t don’t kiss. That that’d be weird.
Okay, they have dirty minds. There was a lot of controversy about the age or about the outfits, but we were honestly just trying to convey the message and like uh show dance through art, and it was nothing more than that. What are your thoughts about the music video? Made me feel violated like this little girl is dancing around with this grown man.
I shot this when i was i think 11 or 12. And um i didn’t find it weird at all only because first of all shai is an amazing actor and i’ve always looked up to him and so getting to do a music video with him and him dancing with me was like so amazing. It was a great experience because of how method he was. That was probably the most controversial video we put out with cia.
being 12 years old and having that video out, i didn’t really understand what all the backlash was about. I was like, i’m literally just dancing, acting with shia, and we’re having an amazing time together. Now, this was such a gigantic issue, the other mothers from abby lee’s dance company raised the issues with maddiey’s mother on the show.
In season 5, i did two more cia videos for elasticart and for big girls cry. You think you’re done with the sea music videos? I definitely want to do more sea videos, and i’m pretty sure she has a lot more songs, so we can do more. Maddiey’s like a full-fledged star now. She has over three million instagram followers.
she has over a billion views on the all the sea of videos. And with fame, there comes controversy, you know, and some people didn’t like the video, elastic heart with shia and maddie. And it was amazing. It was such a work of art. And i’m so glad that she did it. I don’t regret that she did it.
and at the time, i had no clue that there would be any controversy because i’m 12 years old, first of all. Second of all, i’m a dancer. I’m an actress and he’s acting. It’s not like anything was happening. We’re just acting. Yeah. And they’re buddies. I mean, i think that with any celebrity or anybody in the public eye, people are going to try to knock knock you down.
and it’s unfortunate. That’s what the business is like. But you just can’t let the haters hate just like taylor swift says. Yeah. I mean, really, there’s always going to be hate and not everyone’s going to like you, but they’re talking about you, so that’s all that matters. Yep. I think that elastic cart is when i figured out how to really really act cuz shia influenced me.
i just think she was here and now she’s up here and they have something coming up. Hopefully, not hopefully, it’s happening. Yeah. This would quickly spiral into an absolutely inappropriate relationship between a 39-year-old cia and a 12-year-old maddie ziegler. Cia even getting mattie’s mother’s permission to become her official godmother.
is that how cia got hooked up with you? Yeah, when i was i mean i started when i was i think i just turned eight and then she watched the show religiously and then she tweeted me and was like i want you in my music video and at the time i didn’t really know who she was but then we did the video and i didn’t expect the outcome and now it’s just i mean yeah i mean it’s it’s well this is you from the video chandelier.
I know i look like a different person. I mean that video changed my life forever. You uh you’ve become friends with her like yeah, she um is the best person in my life. She really is. Um, she’s i think my godmom now. Is that right? Yeah, i think so. Like officially or just yeah. Yeah. So, if anything were to happen, she would take me, which is really cool.
and we just the day we met, we clicked and we knew that it was a special connection. And she’s so great. She’s the greatest. She’s your adopted godmother. Yeah, she is. She’s like my godmother. Um, we have the best time ever. The day i met her, we clicked and since then it’s like literally history. Um, and now we’re um inseparable.
like we literally spend all the time so much time together and she’s really the most inspiring woman i know. Maddie would embark on several performances with cia. The news was writing at the time. In the past year, ziegler’s partnership with cia has launched into her pop superstardom. In recent months, she has performed on saturday night live, ellen, and at the grammys.
maddie saying kim and kanye were right in the front. I was freaking out that they were watching me dance. Ziegler also performed live at the hollywood bowl with cia. The article stating she was mesmerizing, a tiny elf puretting across the huge stage in her platinum blonde wig and fleshcoled leotard while cia back turned to the audience belted out her hit chandelier.
Maddie saying that was probably the biggest crowd i’ve ever danced in front of. I still get nervous. I’m a perfectionist, so i always want everything to be great. Her mother, melissa ziegler, pops in and out of the office, divided between chaperoning maddie and taking care of mckenzie. The 39-year-old, who chooses to hide her fame behind masks and wigs, has stated that she finds fame horrible, and she wants to quote be invisible.
mattie ziegler’s role is to play quote a state of the singer and emulate her appearance in a blonde bobbed wig. All the fame that cia would have received from those videos was now being directed and even amplified toward a 12-year-old maddie ziggler. Fame was her prison, and she made sure to bring an ever so excited mattie ziegler right into the prison cell with her.
this is where things would get even more bizarre. Cia actually hired a group of hand oh i mean 24-hour security detail for maddie to be watched at all times telling sirius xm quote i provide her 24-hour security because i feel responsible for her ensuing fame but security wasn’t the only thing sia would be purchasing for maddie.
she even gifted maddie her first car at the age of 16 years old and seemingly continuously showers her in presents. This is where even more red flags would be fragrantly left in the open as cia would release a third video called big girls cry, where a press release with stuff magazine included multiple alarming quotes. The article stating cia always makes sure ziggler is completely comfortable with the content.
She says, “if it’s ever too much for you, you have to say you can’t handle it.” okay, so maddie ziggler has to say she can’t handle something. If she says she’s uncomfortable with something, i don’t think that’s a good rhetoric because in the dance world and dance moms and stuff, they’re told they can handle anything and do anything and winning is the only option and it’s super competitive and maddie was one of the most competitive girls on that show.
So, to make her admit when she’s uncomfortable that she can’t handle something, that’s a lot to put on a 12-year-old. Anyway, the article continues on trying to absolve sea. They say if anything, cia tries to make ziggler even more childlike, telling her not to wear makeup. Mattie saying, “one time i had fake nails on, and she said, “you have to cut those.
” now, the article continues saying is maddie loves going to the musician’s house to play with her dogs. And finally, mattiey’s mother comes in saying, “they’re like sisters. I love how they snuggle together.” to be honest, it just gets worse. So, buckle up. Basically, this article ends teasing the next step in mattiey’s career, and it would be the downfall of not only cia’s reputation, but mattie ziegler’s as well.
see, maddie told stuff that her ambition is to become a quote real actress. Ending the article with a quote saying, “but i’m also doing a lot of acting and singing. I definitely want to be a triple threat.” but the only thing maddie would become a triple threat to was herself. Unfortunately for a 14-year-old maddie ziegler, just as she was venturing into acting, cia was venturing into directing.
however, there was a major glaring flaw in the film’s main premise. The main character for the film sia had created was autistic girl that she wanted to be played by maddie ziegler. So, she plays a special needs child who she someone on the on the autism spectrum who’s quite low functioning, but she’s nonverbal. She has a little echalleia, which means that she can repeat what you say to her, but she doesn’t generate her own language.
Now, mattie ziegler was openly neurotypical, so cia was pretty much setting up the most uncomfortable hour and 45 minutes of our natural-born lives. When cia originally announced her directorial debut in 2015, the film was intended to be non-musical with a budget of $4 million. But once the film was pitched instead as a musical, the budget was increased to $16 million as that was very on brand for cia and caused much more public interest.
it even caught the attention of controversial and troubling organization autism speaks, who cia would consult throughout the creation of her new film that she would title music. The movie begins with a young maddie ziegler, who is only 14 at the time of recording, dancing around colorful walls, portraying a non-verbal autistic teenager named music in a fantastical dream sequence.
during the course of the entire film, the characters will randomly switch in and out of reality. From dealing with their real life hardships to sauntering through whimsical dance scenes, all taking place in the imagination of the main character, who’s named after the title of the movie, music. Starring in the movie alongside maddie is kate hudson.
Sporting a shaved head and a t-shirt that reads, “i’m not old. I’m a recycled teenager.” leslie odm jr. From hamilton is depicted as kate hudson’s love interest, who helps her to care for her younger disabled sister. After their mother passed away after spending years working on the project, the backlash that sia received was more immense than she could have ever anticipated.
Seia’s responding to a backlash she is getting after the teaser was released for a film she directed called music. Aia cast her muse maddie zaggler as someone on the autism spectrum. The autism community is slamming her for not casting someone who actually has autism. I i think if it’s for change, she should have hired someone that was autistic.
And i think she should have worked harder to find that right person, but at the same time, you create a movie that’s going to speak on so many levels that you’re putting out a story about someone who is autistic. So cia’s controversial film music is nominated for best international flopperoon. I don’t want to get into it, guys, but it’s real problematic.
and twitter is saying it’s the most offensive casting since kate hudson was the weight watchers spokesperson. If you’re making a movie about someone who’s autistic for the autistic community, you should kind of be open to what the autistic community has to say about it. So, sa releases this movie about an autistic character.
and so, the first thing that a lot of us thought was, “oh my god, how cool. Well, we really need some autistic representation. Uh, considering everything else that’s in the media. So, let’s see. Um, let’s see who the main character is. What autistic actor did you hire to be this character? There are tons of autistic actors out there.
i wonder is this a new autistic actor that we haven’t really heard of yet. Then you get the trailer and it is maddie ziggler who is not autistic. It’s called acting page. Okay. If you think that someone who’s not autistic can act autistic better than someone who is autistic, you’re wrong.
and also, you can’t act autistic without making it look like a mockery. Especially with the kinds of things that music the character struggles with, you cannot portray that falsely and make it not look like a mockery. And also, if you’re saying that anyone can act autistic, it’s just acting. You need to recognize your own abbleism there.
and and why you think that autistics are not good enough at being autistic on their own, that they need to fit your level of what autism looks like and they need to perform to what you know that’s not true and you need to rethink that. The film was allegedly intended to be uplifting and educational, but completely missed the mark and virtually no actual autistic people agreed that the messaging was on point.
namely, many were upset that the autistic lead character was played by neurotypical dance mom star mattie ziegler. Instances where non-aututistic actors played autistic characters have of course received criticism in the past. When i brought this up on my tiktok, a lot of people were saying, “what about good doctor? Yes.
what about what’s eating gilbert grape?” yes. Yes. Name some more. Name some more. Like, we weren’t happy with any of those. And this film was no exception. Cia herself claims that in short, the movie can be described as rainman the musical, but with girls. Now, as the backlash began, cia seemed to already see the warning signs flashing in her rearview mirror because this movie was not being received as she had hoped, stating the movie is both a love letter to caregivers and to the autism community.
I have my own unique view of the community and felt it is underrepresented and compelled to make it. If that makes me a i’m a but my intentions are awesome. Unfortunately, the road to hell would be paved with good intentions. As when called out on the entirely tonedeaf casting approach, cia responded to the criticism on twitter by saying, “i actually tried working with a beautiful young girl, non-verbal, on the spectrum, and she found it unpleasant and stressful.
so, that’s why i cast maddie. I’ve never referred to music as disabled. Special abilities is what i’ve always said, and casting someone at her level of functioning was cruel, not kind. So, i made the executive decision that we would do our best to lovingly represent the community. But what cia was quickly finding out was the community felt the exact opposite.
now, cia pretty much exclusively works with only mattie ziegler, even saying she can’t do a project without maddie, and she wouldn’t even make art if it didn’t include her. Now, another major issue people had with the movie was the way in which the film depicted methods of deescalation during the main character’s meltdowns.
in one of the earliest scenes in the movie, leslie odm jr.’s character wrestles her to the ground and smothers her with his entire body weight. A highly controversial deescalation tactic which is used throughout the movie. Now, these scenes are so triggering that even during the filming, maddie allegedly broke down in tears as she felt she was making fun of people in the spectrum.
But her trusted adult mentor, cia, reassured her that she would never let that happen. It was the first rehearsal and kate was a little bit late and maddie arrived and she was living across the road from me at the time and i could see something was wrong with her. She was pale and she was just unlike herself and i’d known her since she was 11 and she was 14 now.
and i was like, “honey, what’s wrong? Is there something wrong?” and she just boast into tears and she just said, “i don’t want anyone to think that i’m making fun of them.” and i was like, “oh, honey, like i won’t let that happen.” i was like, i promise i won’t let that happen. And your character is based on a real person that i know and i’m teaching you all of his utterances and all of his ticks and as accurate representation as that i know and also you can have final cut.
i said if there’s anything in there that makes you feel uncomfortable, then you can have final cut. Now using these grandiose scenes of deescalation techniques was a major point of criticism as according to doctors this method should only be used in the case of individuals who pose an immediate physical threat to themselves or others.
this technique is extremely restricting and has even proven to be fatal in some cases, including a tragic incident that occurred in 2018 in which a 13-year-old autistic boy suffocated after being restrained on the ground by teaching staff during a meltdown. Now, cia took notice of these complaints and took to twitter, stating, “music in no way condones or recommends the use of restraints on autistic people.
there are autistic occupational therapists that specialize in sensory processing who can be consulted to explain safe ways to provide proprioceptive deep pressure feedback to help with meltdown safety,” following it with a separate tweet simply saying, “i’m sorry.” however, this was one of her kinder responses to the criticism she was met with on twitter.
a twitter user named helen tweeted to her. Several autistic actors, myself included, responded to these tweets. We all said we could have acted in it on short notice. These excuses are just that, excuses. The fact of the matter is zero effort was made to include anyone who is actually autistic. #nothingabout us without us. To which cia bitterly replied, “maybe you’re just a bad actor.
” she would also go on to tweet, “gritty, why don’t you go watch my film before you judge it?” now, a danish advocate for autism named nina scove jensen would even start a petition for the golden globes to resend their nominations for the film and garnered over a 100,000 signatures. Nah told the news, “i didn’t feel anything while i watched it except strong discomfort from the strobe lights, colors, patterns, and the fast camera movement.
i just felt empty inside. I cried the day after when it all hit me. The way the stems and movements are mimicked is very hurtful to watch as it is done very mechanically and by a non-aututistic individual. This is the same way we have been bullied and mocked our entire lives. Now, when sia was asked if she actually did any research at all for the film, she replied saying she had two people on the spectrum advising her at all times and even cited the highly controversial organization autism speaks.
when people explained to her the nature of autism speaks ways, cia responded saying, “autism speaks came on board long after the film was finished for years in fact. I had no idea it was such a polarizing group. However, autism speaks would then speak out against cia, tweeting that autism speaks was not involved in the casting or production of the film music.
Representation matters, and we believe autistic actors should always be given opportunities to play autistic characters. Now, where was maddie ziggler during all of this? When asked by the independent about cia’s comments, she said, “i’ve actually stayed out of all of it because it’s a lot of pressure.
i understand why people would want someone who’s actually on the spectrum with autism to play this character. But in terms of the dance sequences, i think that’s why cia chose me to bring the dream world to life. It was all made with good intentions and with a good heart. I felt so much responsibility, but i felt i was capable.
i knew going into this that people were going to love or hate it. And it’s safe to say people did hate this movie. The independent article details that mattie studied leonardo dicaprio’s character in what’s eating gilbert grape? And youtube videos of people on the spectrum as well. Maddie chiming in that she’d get in her head at times and say she was going to try and replicate quote those mannerisms and those ticks.
she continued saying, “but then i started watching each video and i realized each single person is so special in their own way. That’s how cia and i came up with music. Her mannerisms and her own thing going on. The interviewer then noted that maddie sounded genuine, but that that was the kind of wideeyed naivity that suggested that maddie wasn’t the best actress for the role.
now, during this non-stop backlash and vitrial, sia deactivated her twitter account, evading any criticism, all while mattie zaggler’s twitter was being destroyed by the replies. And she would later tell the new york times, “i was recidal and relapsed and went to rehab.” mattie ziegler, a young dancer with dreams of making it big, made it spectacularly huge.
but at what cost? Someone who had approached her as a life guide, had done the exact opposite and guided her career to the grave. While yes, maddie is young and hopefully won’t be held responsible for cia’s controversial endeavors, that content is still viewable to the masses. And mattie ziegler will always have portrayed the character music in cia’s greatest blender of all time.
Like you couldn’t even i’m autistic. Okay. Right. Yeah. I’m autistic. I have autism. Whatever you want to say. No, but how did i not know this? I’m pretty good at masking. Putting on a face pretending most of the time. Yeah. But you don’t like you’re not like i’ve met autistic people. Okay. And you’re like really emotionally intelligent. Yeah.
and so i just thought, okay, see, don’t forget to check out the link in the description box and use our code deep dive for 55% off your first month with zbird.
