In the summer of 2020, Maddie Ziegler—best known for appearing in Sia’s “Chandelier” video when she was 11—posted an earnest apology to her Twitter feed. Videos of her laughingly engaging in “ignorant and racially insensitive” behavior when she was nine were circulating online, and the internet demanded an explanation. “I’m honestly ashamed and I’m truly sorry for my actions. The decisions I made then are absolutely not the decisions I would make today, ” the then-17-year-old wrote. “We have all made mistakes in our lives and as we grow up we educate ourselves and learn to be better people.” This story is from Kinfolk Issue Thirty-Nine Buy Now Related Stories Arts & Culture Issue 39 Note to Self What advice would you give your younger self? An artist, a writer, a conductor, a curator, a rabbi and a robot pen missives to the past. Arts & Culture Issue 39 Nic Stone How can a young adult fiction author tackle racism, inequality and incarceration—but not rob teen readers of their optimism? Arts & Culture Issue 39 Learn Lenience We were all young once. Arts & Culture Issue 39 Pay it Forward How to be a mentor. Arts & Culture Issue 39 Think Back A reexamination of nostalgia. Arts & Culture Issue 39 Grow Up In praise of aging.
Arts & Culture Issue 39 Note to Self What advice would you give your younger self? An artist, a writer, a conductor, a curator, a rabbi and a robot pen missives to the past.
Arts & Culture Issue 39 Nic Stone How can a young adult fiction author tackle racism, inequality and incarceration—but not rob teen readers of their optimism?
