Sia Claims She Stepped in When Harvey Weinstein Invited Maddie Ziegler on His Plane

Sia is opening up about her protective relationship with Maddie Ziegler, and how she has been looking out for the young star’s best interest since they started working together when the Dance Moms star was just 11. In an interview on the Zach Sang Show on Wednesday, the artist revealed she even stepped in when convicted rapist and former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein allegedly invited the Ziegler, now 17, on his plane.

“I kept her off a plane that Harvey Weinstein tried to get her on,” Sia said in the interview. “I know there’s times where my insight has really made a difference, like kept her safe.” She continued that the whole situation was “disgusting,” recalling calling Ziegler’s mother about the invite. “I just said, ‘Please don’t, do not do that,’” Sia recalled.

She continued that from the time she began working with Ziegler, she felt “this extreme compulsion to protect her” that has not changed over the years. “I just love her as a mother,” Sia explained. The musician also discussed the odd relationship with fame their performance duo has created, as she is known to hide her face with a large wig to avoid the less savory side of the spotlight while at the same time helping to make Ziegler a household name as somewhat of a surrogate in music videos and on-stage performances.

“She would say to me, ‘Don’t be silly, I was already famous and I wanted to be famous,’” Sia recalled. “And I would say say, ‘And you know, it can stop at any time, right? If you want it to stop, I can make it stop. You can just go back to being a normal person again.’ But she just said, ‘No, I love performing. I love dancing, and I love acting so much.’”

Sia even joked that she might have even been a “pain in the butt” for Ziegler’s manager over the years for stepping in and suggesting things like that the star not take an upcoming project, which she refused to name. “I felt that the film wasn’t good enough for her, and so I called Melissa [Ziegler’s mom], and was like, ‘Please don’t do this, like this isn’t good for her career. It’s not good for her long term credibility. This is not a good co-star to be in a movie with,’” Sia said.