Sia Accused of Using Blackface by Taylor Swift Fans after 2011 Photo Resurfaces

Singer and music producer Sia is facing backlash online after pictures of her wearing black paint on her face were unearthed by Taylor Swift fans over the weekend. However, she was quick to slam down the racism allegations.

Taylor Swift started a social media brawl with music manager Scooter Braun over the weekend, accusing him of “manipulative bullying” in a Tumblr post where she reacted to the news of him acquiring the rights to the masters of her six albums under Big Machine Records.

Swift called the move her “worst-case scenario” and added that she felt “sad and grossed out” now that her musical legacy will “lie in the hands of someone who tried to dismantle it.”

Sia, alongside celebrities like Justin Bieber and Demi Lovato, came to Braun’s defense as Taylor’s fans swarmed the music manager with hate messages.

“You’re a good kind man @scooterbraun. I hope this passes quickly. I love you keep going,” the “Chandelier” singer tweeted on Monday.

Her words, however, didn’t sit well with Swift’s fans, who in retaliation, unearthed pics of Sia wearing black paint in her face and beck, and accused her of doing blackface.

The “Cheap Thrills” singer, who is famous for her out-of-the-box performances and for wearing a huge wig to cover her face on stage, defended herself with a follow up tweet, as she shared a video from a concert in Adelaide, Australia in February 2011 that allegedly explains why she was wearing black paint in the first place.

She added in her caption:

“For the swift fans trying to make out that I would ever do blackface please see this video. I was painting myself into the backdrop; it was a precursor to the wig.”

Still, Swifties’ reaction to her explanation was nothing but defensive.

One fan replied: “We don't care about that. We care about how you don't mind that a horrible man is taking the rights of almost ALL the songs of another songwriter, like you.”

And another added,

“to minimize this as ‘swift fans’ trying to pick a fight is literally gross and it’s really not hard to apologize for being offensive.. why a whole a** adult would think it’s ok to paint their face black is BEYOND me...”

The drama between Swift and Braun is still on-going. Some of the celebs that have sided with the “I Knew You Were Trouble” singer are Halsey, Cara Delevigne, Martha Hunt, Brendon Urie, Todrick Hall, and Camila Cabello.