Kate Hudson responds to backlash to her movie Music

Kate Hudson has spoken out about the recent criticism of her movie Music for its portrayal of autism.

Hudson, who stars in the musical drama directed by Sia, talked to Jimmy Kimmel about the backlash and petition from viewers who call the movie ‘severely ableist’ and contributing to ‘harmful stereotypes of autistic people’.

During a chat with Kimmel on Friday, Hudson, 41, said: ‘I think when people see the film, they will see the amount of love and sensitivity that was put into it.

‘It is an important conversation to have and it’s not just about this movie, but as a whole, about representation. For me, when I hear that there’s anybody that feels left out I feel terrible.’

Hudson added that she believes it’s an important conversation to have.

Much of the controversy surrounds Sia’s casting of her favorite young star, Maddie Ziegler, in the role of a nonverbal autistic woman.

Many believe the role shouldn’t have gone to a neurotypical actress.

‘Nobody has really asked me that,’ Hudson said about the controversy. ‘I’ve only been asked to sort of comment in a quote, and it’s not a soundbite conversation. I think it’s an ongoing, important dialogue to be had about neurotypical actors playing neurodivergent characters.’

‘The spectrum is so wide and should be approached with far more conversation and understanding of how can we be more representative, what are the best ways to do that,’ Kate added. 

‘We want to tell the best stories we can. There is no one who wants to upset anybody. When people feel upset about anything, it’s our job to listen and encourage more conversation with other people who want to tell these stories.’

A petition calling on the Golden Globes to rescind the two nominations given to the controversial new movie has so far gained more than 100,000 signatures. 

The film has faced heavy backlash over its portrayal of autism, and a new Change.org petition is now calling on the entertainment industry to take a stand on the matter.   

‘Sia’s debut movie “Music” is severely ableist and contributes to harmful stereotypes of autistic people,’ reads the petition.

‘The Golden Globes must rescind its two nominations for “Best Musical/Comedy Picture” and “Best Musical/Comedy Actress: Kate Hudson”, and the entertainment industry must promise to actively work towards inclusion and better disability representation.’ 

The authors of the petition also say the film in unwatchable for those with autism due to the ‘strobing lights, loud sounds, and quick camera movements’, despite Sia previously insisting the film was a ‘love letter to the autism community.’

‘About 1 in 4 autistic people have epilepsy, so the movie can cause seizures and is also very uncomfortable for those without it. Despite making the movie “for” autistic people, Sia has made it in such a way that a majority of us will be unable to watch it,’ reads the petition, titled ‘The Golden Globes Must Rescind the Nomination for Sia’s Ableist Movie “Music”‘. 

Ziegler plays an autistic teen in the film, and the petition claims autistic actors were overlooked for the part she ultimately landed.   

‘Secondly, actual autistic people were ignored in the casting process when Sia cast neurotypical Maddie Ziegler to play the autistic character, “Music” because she “can’t do a project without” her,’ reads the petition.

‘To make things even worse, Ziegler learned how to “act autistic” by watching videos of autistic children having meltdowns uploaded to YouTube by their parents without their consent,’ the petition adds.

The petition also takes issue with Sia’s response to disability activists over her film.

‘When faced with justified critique, Sia decided to personally attack members of the community e.g. when she replied: “maybe you’re just a bad actor” to one autistic individual who expressed their ability and willingness to act in her movie.

‘Furthermore, Sia claims to have researched autism for years, but the fact that she collaborated with Autism Speaks, easily identified as a eugenics-promoting hate group, is a testament to the severity of her lies. She refused to apologize and only did so after receiving the nominations out of fear of a boycott, which is exactly what we urge all of you to do.’ 

The petition also addresses the depiction of restraints in the film, which Sia previously said she would be removing.

Sia apologized following the criticism, and promised to attach a warning to the movie saying the film ‘in no way condones or recommends the use of restraint on autistic people.’

Yet the petition claims ‘the restraint scenes have NOT been removed and there are no warnings in the movie.’

The musical drama Music was released earlier this month, and has not just received widespread criticism from the autism community, but negative reviews.

Still, the movie received two Golden Globe nominations – one for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, and another for Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical for Kate Hudson.

Kate plays a newly sober drug dealer who becomes the guardian of her autistic half-sister Music (Maddie) after the death of her grandmother.   

Zu (Kate) struggles taking care of Music, but is helped by their neighbor Ebo (Leslie Odom Jr.).