The criticism over Kate Hudson’s new movie is not music to her ears.
The Golden Globe-nominated film, Music , has been hit with backlash over director Sia casting Maddie Zeigler in an autistic character’s role.
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Recently, Kate took it upon herself to respond to the backlash during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live .
Come see what she had to say.
Sia’s directorial debut, *Music*, hasn’t been hitting many high notes.
The film, which stars Kate Hudson and Maddy Zeigler, is about a recently sober drug dealer (Hudson) who is left to take care of her autistic sister named Music (Zeigler).
One way they connect is through music.
At the forefront of the controversy is singer Sia’s decision to cast her frequent muse, Maddie Zeigler, as an autistic person.
The decision has been met with intense social media backlash ever since the film’s teaser trailer released back in November.
“@sia has got this one wrong. There are so many talented autistic actors out there,” tweeted the National Autism Society.
“Hi Sia, can I ask why you didn’t cast a disabled actor for this part?” questioned Irish actress Bronagh Waugh.
“It’s pretty offensive the way you’ve chosen to portray this character. People with disabilities are not broken and don’t need fixing.”
At first, Sia defended her decision to cast Zeigler in the role, writing on Twitter that she spent three years researching autism.
“None of you have even seen it. Such a bummer!” she wrote on Twitter. In an interview with The Project , she shared that she simply couldn’t do a project without Maddie.
Months after the initial backlash, Sia has changed her tune about the controversy.
She recently apologized for the subject matter and even promised to make changes to the film.
“I promise, have been listening. The motion picture MUSIC will, moving forward, have this warning at the head of the movie,” she wrote in a now-deleted tweet.
The warning wrote: “MUSIC in no way condones or recommends the use of restraint on autistic people.”
Before deactivating her Twitter account, the “Chandelier” singer also said that she would cut scenes that showed restraint being used on Ziegler’s character.
Now, it’s Kate Hudson’s turn to speak out.
The actress, who was recently nominated for a Golden Globe for her role in the film, addressed the backlash while on Jimmy Kimmel Live .
“I think when people see the film, you know, that they will see the amount of love and sensitivity that was put into it,” she began.
“But it is an important conversation to have, you know, not just about this movie, but as a whole […] about representation,” she continued.
She went on to express any regrets she has about people who are upset.
“For me, when I hear that there’s anybody that feels left out I feel terrible.”
She echoed Sia’s words by saying that she’s listening and learning:
“It’s like an ongoing and important dialogue to be had, about, you know, neurotypical actors portraying neurodivergent characters […] It is an important one to have with people who are experts and really know how to sort of, you know, really engage in the conversation and so I encourage it, really, truly. And so I think that, just to say, you know, that we are listening and it’s [an] important dialogue to have.”
The only person who has yet to speak out on the backlash is the receiver of it herself: Maddie.
She appears to be staying as far from the movie as possible, making no mention of it on her social media.
The only thing fans know about her feelings is what Sia has said.
“She cried on the first day of rehearsals and she was really scared,” Sia shared in her interview with *The Project*.
“She just said, ‘I don’t want anyone to think I’m making fun of them,'” Sia recalled . “And I, bald-facedly, said ‘I won’t let that happen.'”
For more, you can watch Kate’s interview with Jimmy Kimmel yourself!
