Sia released the above video for "Elastic Heart" yesterday. It features dancer Maddie Ziegler as the same character from "Chandelier," this time facing off against Shia LaBeouf, who's also clad in nude fabric. The song's lyrics and video are meant to evoke Sia's relationship with her father, meaning that Ziegler is intended to represent the singer, while LaBeouf is the father figure. Still, that's not how everyone is interpreting the video.
Fans rushed in to defend Sia's artistic vision, but the singer also took to Twitter to respond.
It's refreshing to see an artist respond to criticism with so much thought and empathy.
I anticipated some 'pedophelia!!!' Cries for this video. All I can say is Maddie and Shia are two of the only actors I felt could play
— sia (@Sia) January 8, 2015
These two warring 'sia' self states.
— sia (@Sia) January 8, 2015
I apologize to those who feel triggered by #ElasticHeart My intention was to create some emotional content, not to upset anybody. ?
— sia (@Sia) January 8, 2015
It's refreshing to see an artist respond to criticism with so much thought and empathy.
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