Sia has said she regrets hitting back on social media, when critics called her out for casting a non-autistic actor to play the role of an autistic character in her new film Music.
The Aussie musician's first feature film is set to be released next year, however, not everyone was happy with her choosing Maddie Ziegler to play Music, a non-verbal autistic character.
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On Twitter, Sia slammed those who accused her of ableism, telling one person they had 'no f****ed idea'.
Another person wrote: "Several autistic actors, myself included, responded to these tweets. We all said we could have acted in it on short notice. These excuses are just that - excuses. The fact of the matter is zero effort was made to include anyone who is actually autistic."
To which Sia replied: "Maybe you're just a bad actor."
Now, Sia has admitted that she 'f***ed up' by sending the stream of angry replies.
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In an interview with The Sydney Morning Herald, she said: "Looking back, I should have just shut up; I know that now.
"It was three in the morning, and even though I have a rule that I don't do anything emotional past midnight, I f***ed up this time."
She went on to say that she had approached someone on the autistic spectrum to play the character but says they found filming too distressing.
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Sia added: "What I do know is that people functioning at Music's level can't get on Twitter and tell me I did a good job either.
"There's a saying in AA that you're better to understand, than be understood. Sadly, I forgot about that when I got on Twitter.
"I really just wanted to explain that I had tried all these different options and done my best."
Last week, during an interview with Australia's Channel 10, Sia defended her choice of casting, saying she 'needed a dancer' for the rule.
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She added: "It's not a documentary. Kate [Hudson who also stares in the movie] isn't a drug dealer and Leslie Odom Jr. [who plays neighbour Ebo] isn't from Ghana."
Sia has previously said her intention was 'love love love'.
Back in November, the National Autistic Society tweeted about the casting choice, writing: "Sia has got this one wrong. There are so many talented autistic actors out there - like Saskia, Alex, Max, and Holly who starred in our #AutismTMI films."
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Prompting Sia to reply: "Obviously I feel really sad that I feel I've upset people and especially people on the spectrum. My intention was love love love."
Music is set to be released in February 2021.
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