Sia has responded to a suggestion that she is exploiting teen dancer Maddie Ziegler.
Earlier in the week, Bonnie Malkin of The Guardian – who attended a Sia concert in Australia – wondered why the singer is comfortable hiding behind her trademark wigs while thrusting the 15-year-old into the spotlight.
"Up on the stage in Sydney on Saturday, with [Sia] Furler concealed and Maddie in the spotlight,” Malkin wrote, “it seemed that the superstar was deploying a child in a way that she herself refuses to be.
"Where Furler was hidden, Maddie was exposed. Where Furler was still, Maddie was moving. Where the singer was in darkness, the child was in the spotlight. Where Furler’s face and body was carefully hidden from the eyes of a stadium full of strangers, Maddie’s face and body was offered up instead.”
Sia responded to the criticism in a series of tweets.
“This article poses a question I have asked myself often,” she wrote. “I do check in with Maddie weekly about whether she wants this, and assure her if she ever wants it to stop it stops.
“It's a conversation we should all be having. Not just myself but all directors, stage parents and agents with their children, clients, charges. Maddie was already famous when I discovered her, but I have certainly expanded her exposure and feel responsible for that. I feel very protective of her and my goal is to empower her in whatever choices she makes.”
Sia continued: “Some would argue a teenager can't or shouldn't be charged with making sound choices for themselves and so I do try to choose the best for her always. But I think this is an important conversation. What I learned from Maddie is that fame affects her differently than how it affected me. I can only trust that she is telling me the truth. If that changes, we stop.”
In addition to dancing in Sia’s live shows, Ziegler appears in several of the singer’s videos, including “Chandelier,” “Elastic Heart” and “Cheap Thrills.”