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BLACKFACE ROW: Sia is known for wearing large wigs to cover her face

SIA HAS become embroiled in a row over blackface after a photo of the singer painted black resurfaced online.

The image, in which Sia is wearing a short black wig and has her face and body painted black, was dug up by Taylor Swift fans after Sia waded into a dispute between the pop star and talent agent Scooter Braun.

Swift has recently accused Braun of years of “incessant, manipulative bullying”.

Her comments were published in a lengthy Tumblr post after she discovered Braun had acquired her masters back catalogue, something she says she only found out about at the same time as the news was announced to the world.

“Essentially, my musical legacy is about to lie in the hands of someone who tried to dismantle it,” she wrote.

“Never in my worst nightmares did I imagine the buyer would be Scooter,” she added.

On Tuesday, Sia expressed support for Braun amid the accusations.

“You’re a good kind man @scooterbraun. I hope this passes quickly. I love you. Keep going,” she wrote.

Her message sparked a backlash from Swift’s fanbase who shared a photo of Sia with her face and neck painted black.

Sia is a total trash. I guess she wants some attention after her flop songs pic.twitter.com/kDoW81GqA6

— B (@taylena_tr) July 2, 2019

Despite the photos, Sia has denied engaging in blackface. She maintains that she was wearing the black paint so that she could blend into the background.

Responding to the comments, she said: “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 pre cursor to the wig…”

Sia wears various disguises, mostly large wigs, to cover her face during performances. She has previously said the signature costumes are an attempt to reduce interest in her as a celebrity outside her performance work.

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