Kate Hudson calls criticism of Sia's controversially casted movie from autism community 'important dialogue'

• Kate Hudson stars in Sia's "Music" as the sister of a girl with autism played by Maddie Ziegler.
• Hudson, who's up for a Golden Globe, spoke to Jimmy Kimmel about criticism of the movie's casting.
• She said "Music" was made with "love and sensitivity" but sparked dialogue about representation.

Kate Hudson spoke about starring in Sia's new musical-movie "Music," which controversially stars former "Dance Moms" star and longtime muse of the singer Maddie Ziegler as a young, non-verbal girl on the autism disorder spectrum.

In Sia's movie, Hudson plays Zu, the older sister of Ziegler's character, Music.

Hudson was nominated for a 2021 Golden Globe for best performance by an actress in a motion picture - musical or comedy. The film also received a Golden Globe nomination for best motion picture - musical or comedy.

When Sia released a first look at "Music" in fall 2020, however, autism rights activists criticized the portrayal of the disorder in the movie and called into question the choice to cast Ziegler, who is not on the autism disorder spectrum, for the role.

Critics particularly took issue with scenes in the film where Ziegler's character is held back or physically restrained, which is meant to keep her calm. Criticism of the scenes led Sia to tweet that she added a disclaimer to the beginning of the film. The musician and filmmaker also said that scenes in which Ziegler's character was restrained would be removed "from all future printings," according to USA Today.

In November 2020, Sia defended the movie in a series of tweets to her social media followers and autism rights activists before deleting her account.

In January, the singer said on the Australian TV show "The Sunday Project" that she thought casting Ziegler in the movie was not ableism, but nepotism.

"I realized it wasn't ableism. I mean, it is ableism I guess as well, but it's actually nepotism because I can't do a project without her [Ziegler]," she said. "I don't want to. I wouldn't make art if it didn't include her."

Kate Hudson said she thinks the response to 'Music' shows that it's the job of storytellers to 'listen and encourage more conversation'

Hudson last week appeared on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" to speak about the response to "Music."

"There's been a lot of criticism of the movie from among others the autism community. Do you feel like the intended message of the film was expressed in a way that you'd hoped it would be?" Kimmel asked Hudson.

"I hope so," Hudson said. "I think when people see the film that they see the amount of love and sensitivity that was put into it. But it is an important conversation to have - not just about this movie, but as a whole, about representation. For me, when I hear that there's anybody who feels left out, I feel terrible."

"Nobody has really asked me that," Hudson continued. "I think that I've only been asked to sort of comment on it through a quote, and it's not a soundbite conversation. I think it's an ongoing important dialogue to be had about neurotypical actors portraying neurodivergent characters."

Hudson said the issue "should be a continuous conversation" and that actors, as "storytellers" should encourage open conversation.

"I always say, storytellers, that's what we do. We want to tell the best stories we can," Hudson said. "There's no part of anybody who wants to upset anybody. We want to tell the best stories. And when there . . . are people who feel upset about anything, it's our job to I think listen and encourage more conversation with other people who want to tell these stories because they're important stories to be told."

"Music" premiered on February 12 and is available to stream on a number of platforms, including Apple TV and Amazon Prime Video.