Sia, Anne Hathaway, Hugh Sheridan, and the one line of defence that has no place in 2020.

Every time an entertainment controversy bubbles to the surface in 2020, there's a familiar and irritating tune playing in the background.

A tune that actors, creatives and filmmakers have become all too comfortable singing whenever a concern is raised about their creative endeavours.

Think of it as a 'get out of jail' free card publicists used to toss to their embattled clients like an overwrought parent throwing a wipe to a food-covered child.

Except, not so much anymore.

Recently there have three key instances where people in the public eye have faced 'backlash' (a hyperbolic term often used in place of 'raised genuine concerns') and the reactions from the people in question have been wildly different.

In early November members of the disability community, including campaigners and Paralympians, condemned the depiction of the characters in The Witches, saying the use of distinct physical impairments in their hands was offensive to those with limb differences.

Watch the trailer for The Witches. Post continues below. 

In response, Warner Bros provided a statement that read “we are deeply saddened to learn that our depiction of the fictional characters in The Witches could upset people with disabilities. It was never the intention for viewers to feel that the fantastical, non-human creatures were meant to represent them.”

Unfortunately, Hollywood has a long and sordid history of not only casting straight, white, cisgender people in diverse and marginalised roles, but also loudly awarding them for bringing these 'characters' to life.

This trend was slightly upended in 2018 when Scarlett Johansson was criticised for signing on to play a transgender character in the movie Rub and Tug.

She initially responded to the critics by saying "tell them that they can be directed to Jeffrey Tambor, Jared Leto, and Felicity Huffman’s reps for comment" referencing actors who have been glorified for playing transgender characters in the past.

Scarlett eventually admitted she was wrong and dropped out of the film, but to this day there is still an army of voices that believe she should have stuck with the character.

The thing is, it's never just 'a character', at least until we stop putting the importance of fictional stories above the ones playing out in the real world.