Although she has written on some of the biggest anthems in recent memory, Sia remains one of the most mysterious pop stars. Citing previous toxic experiences with the spotlight, the Australian hitmaker has made the conscious decision not to show her face in public. She hides behind a supersized wig and does not appear on her album covers or in her music videos. In her absence, she has relied on others to stand in for her, most notably 15-year-old dancer Maddie Ziegler.
The pair have worked together extensively since Maddie appeared in Sia’s “Chandelier”music video in 2014. Recently, the relationship caught the attention of Bonnie Malkin, a writer for The Guardian. After watching the pair perform together at an Australian stop on her Nostalgic For The Present Tour, she penned an article that questioned the 41-year-old’s decision to expose a teen to the spotlight she shuns.
“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,” she wrote. She concluded the article critically, writing “Furler herself might not be willing to marry fame but standing on the stage in front of us, she seemed to be officiating another marriage. Not to a ‘perfect blank slate’ but to a minor who is yet to learn about, or tame, the monster.”
Sia took to social media to respond to the article in a series of tweets. In them she candidly admits that she also often worries about exposing Maddie to the fame that she so carefully avoids. “I do check in with Maddie weekly about whether she wants this, and assure her if she ever wants it to stop it stops,” she wrote. Since the dancer is so young, she admitted that she also watches over things carefully. “I feel very protective of her and my goal is to empower her in whatever choices she makes,” she said, adding “I do try to choose the best for her always.”
However, she noted that the young dancer has thus far avoided any of the pitfalls Sia herself experienced with fame in the past. “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.” Read her full response below.
https://twitter.com/Sia/status/938537764932296704?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.idolator.com%2F7672316%2Fsia-responds-maddie-ziegler-article-guardian
https://twitter.com/Sia/status/938538493709402113?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.idolator.com%2F7672316%2Fsia-responds-maddie-ziegler-article-guardian
https://twitter.com/Sia/status/938538813609033729?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.idolator.com%2F7672316%2Fsia-responds-maddie-ziegler-article-guardian
This article was originally published by: Idolator
