Sia Opens Up About Being on the Autism Spectrum for First Time

Two years after Sia faced controversy and intense backlash for casting a neurotypical actress as an autistic girl in her film Music, the 47-year-old revealed that she is on the autism spectrum herself, opening up about her experience for the first time.

During an appearance on Rob Has A Podcast speaking with Survivor finalist Carolyn Wiger, Sia said, “I’m on the spectrum, and I’m in recovery and whatever — there’s a lot of things," while also noting that she's sober.

She went on, “For 45 years, I was like… ‘I’ve got to go put my human suit on.' And only in the last two years have I become fully, fully myself.”

Sia didn't share when she was diagnosed, but based on what she said, it's possible that it was relatively recent.

The singer visited the podcast to share her love for Wiger, which had a lot to do with the Survivor season 44 contestant's unique personality and how unashamed she was to be herself.

Sia told Wiger, "Nobody can ever know and love you when you’re filled with secrets and… living in shame."

"When we finally sit in a room full of strangers and tell them our deepest, darkest, most shameful secrets, and everybody laughs along with us, and we don’t feel like pieces of trash for the first time in our lives, and we feel seen for the first time in our lives for who we actually are," she added. "Then we can start going out into the world and just operating as humans and human beings with hearts and not pretending to be anything.”

You can catch the full podcast above.