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If you were one of the people who, at least, raised an eyebrow when they saw images of or watched Sia’s new video for ‘Elastic Heart’, you were not alone.
The video, which stars 28-year old Shia LaBeouf and 12-year old Maddie Ziegler of Dance Moms in a birdcage acting out a modern dance routine that appeared to be about a turbulent relationship, sparked so much backlash for what some called ‘paedophilic imagery’. Some have gone on to say they were triggered by the images they saw in the video. The video garnered so much negative attention that Sia took to Twitter yesterday to apologize. She posted the following:
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
She then posted an apology:
‘I apologize to those who feel triggered by #ElasticHeart My intention was to create some emotional content, not to upset anybody.’
Neither performers in the video are strangers to art that pushes the envelope.
Ziegler, the dancer who also starred in Sia’s video for ‘Chandelier’, is no stranger to dramatic dance routines. She is a part of the Abby Lee Dance Company, a company that is known for its modern dance numbers about serious topics such as kidnapping and plastic surgery.
LaBeouf has also been in the news recently for controversy surrounding his #IAMSORRY art exhibit in Beverly Hills, California last February. He stood silently in a room with a paper bag over his head, and visitors were allowed to interact with him after going through a security check and choosing from a variety of items including a bowl of tweets about the actor, a bottle of Jack Daniel’s, a leather whip, a pair of pliers, and a bottle of cologne. Visitors could use the item in a way of their choosing and the actor could not respond to them at all. In November, LaBeouf claimed he was sexually assaulted during the exhibit.
Sia is scheduled to perform on Saturday Night Live on 17 January, and the singer did tweet Ziegler will be one of her co-performers.
As the video has been described as triggering, we have chosen not to host it here, but you can see the video over at YouTube.
Image Sources: Noisey and Monet
