By Hayden Wright
In 2015, long before Lemonade and “Cheap Thrills” climbed the charts, Sia gave a Billboard interview in which she described working with (or rather, for) Beyoncé as a kind of “writing camp.”
“She’s very Frankenstein when she comes to the songs,” Sia said, suggesting that Queen Bey prefers to mix various sounds, elements and songwriters on the same track. “In the end, she had maybe 25 songs of mine on hold, and I was very excited to get a couple of them back. Definitely one is on the album.”
Related: Beyoncé’s Indie Collaborators Describe Working on ‘Hold Up’
Ultimately, Lemonade didn’t feature a Sia track. Apropos of (seemingly) nothing, Sia fans rediscovered the interview in recent weeks and launched Twitter’s latest conspiracy theory: Beyoncé has kidnapped Sia and is holding her against her will, harvesting the Australian songwriter’s talent and subjecting her to myriad abuses and humiliations.
The story originated in Brazil, where fans believe Sia is captive in Beyonce’s cativeiro, or dungeon. As the rumor crossed the language barrier, English-speaking fans launched #SaveSia in an effort to raise awareness for Sia’s plight. In short, Sia fans are apoplectic. This definitive Buzzfeed roundup gathers some reactions, but some fans have even tweeted the FBI urging them to look into the matter.
There’s no real evidence to support this theory—Sia has made live appearances through the summer and maintains an active Twitter presence. “Cheap Thrills” recently peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, so Sia has plenty of self-promotion to do at the moment, never mind Beyoncé.
This Photoshop job basically explains the conspiracy theory in a nutshell:
.@gasparjose86 is teaching me about a Brazilian conspiracy theory that Beyoncé keeps Sia locked in her basement. https://t.co/Kzl34srn2j
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Ryan Broderick (@broderick) July 28, 2016Hey @FBISeattle @sia is in danger, we need to #savesia from @beyonce
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Michel Diniz (@gramich) July 29, 2016