The 'Chandelier' hitmaker explains during an appearance on the 'Zach Sang Show' that she developed an almost maternal instinct to protect the teen dancer after they worked together.

• Jul 2, 2020

AceShowbiz - Sia Furler "stepped in" when disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein invited child star Maddie Ziegler to fly with him on his plane.

While Weinstein is now serving a 23-year prison sentence after being convicted of sexual assault and rape in the third degree, he is said to have extended the invitation to Ziegler prior to being outed as a molester.

Sia became very close to Ziegler, now 17, after the dancer starred in her "Chandelier" video back in 2014, and explained on the "Zach Sang Show" that she developed an almost maternal instinct to protect her once they worked together.

"I mean, as soon as I met Maddie I felt this extreme desire to protect her, and I think that it was part of my own healing, and I felt this extreme compulsion to protect her," Sia said. "The irony is that I didn't want to be famous and I threw this child into the spotlight. She would say to me, 'Don't be silly, I was already famous and I wanted to be famous.' And I would 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.' "

Reflecting on the Weinstein incident, Sia revealed that the movie mogul asked Zielger to fly with him, but didn't give any indication as to how old the dancer was at the time.

"So I thought, how's a good way I can keep her safe is just keep making projects for her, and therefore most of the time we're working together - and you know I kept her off a plane that Harvey Weinstein tried to get her on," she said. "I know there's times where my insight has really made a difference, like kept her safe... Yeah, that was really disgusting... When he invited her, that's when I called, I told (her mom) Melissa, I had to. I just said, 'Please don't, do not do that, do not do that, do not do that.' "

Sia added that even now she still has an input in Ziegler's life, and makes a "pain in the butt" of herself when it comes to giving her views on the roles the teenager should take on and the direction of her career.