[Warning: Potentially Triggering Content]
Sia is opening up about what turned out to be an extremely difficult time in her life recently — and it all came out of a recent profile on comedian Kathy Griffin in the New York Times.
The Cheap Thrills singer was interviewed by the newspaper for the story on Griffin’s past professional controversies and attempted career comeback, and in it, Sia revealed a shocking tidbit about her own personal story.
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As Perezcious readers will recall, the 46-year-old Australian singer came under fire in late 2020 and again in early 2021 after receiving significant backlash on social media after casting Maddie Ziegler — a neurotypical actress and dancer — in the lead role of Music Gamble, a nonverbal autistic teenage girl, in Sia’s film directorial debut Music.
Members of the autistic community slammed Sia and condemned the film over Ziegler’s casting and controversial portrayal of autism in the piece. The backlash then further intensified in early 2021, after Sia’s work received two Golden Globe nominations. Sia apologized for the neurotypical casting and portrayal, but the controversy ensued. Eventually, the Aussie-born singer went so far as to delete her Twitter account in an attempt to remove herself from the situation.
Now, in Griffin’s profile, Sia is recounting the unseen aftermath of that controversy on her personally — and revealing a little bit about how the redheaded comedian helped her through it all. At one point in the feature, Sia revealed that she struggled with suicidal thoughts throughout the Music controversy. She succinctly explained just how serious it was at the time:
“I was suicidal and relapsed and went to rehab.”
So scary.
Sia then went a step further, tying it back to Griffin’s story by explaining how the comedian convinced her to be seen at a Hollywood restaurant together last fall. The dinner date was strategic, as Sia noted, because Griffin knew the pair would be photographed by paparazzi cameras during the outing.
Sia explained that the goal from Griffin was to create a more uplifting story about the pair in the months after the Music controversy.
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Sia shared four simple words with the NYT to explain what that did for her:
“She saved my life.”
Wow!
It’s so unsettling to think about what was going on behind the scenes amid that situation. Just goes to show you never know what people are going through, and it’s always best to be compassionate. Thankful that Griffin could offer some level of help to Sia for it all, too! You can read the full feature on Griffin’s attempted comeback, including Sia’s story about recovering after the Music outrage, by clicking HERE.
Thoughts, Perezcious readers? Sound off with your take down in the comments (below)…
[Image via Nicky Nelson/WENN]