Miley Cyrus Revisits Her 2008 Magazine Scandal With An Empowering Message
May 2, 2018
Way back in 2008, Miley Cyrus was the 15-year-old star of Hannah Montana whose career was blowing up. As such, she was tapped to cover Vanity Fair, and the magazine hired storied photographer Annie Leibovitz to shoot it. Cyrus appeared topless, though partially covered and facing away from the camera; the New York Post called it a source of "shame." It was quite the controversy.
But that was then. In the time since, Cyrus has become one of the most outspoken proponents of self-love, especially as it comes to self-image. That's why it was no surprise that, to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Post's headline earlier this week, she took to Twitter to share her thoughts.
On Jimmy Kimmel Live! Tuesday night (May 1), Cyrus expounded on her "IM NOT SORRY" tweet a bit more, calling out the Post headline.
"I think a lot of things have changed, and I think the conversation has changed a lot," she said. "Something that I really thought about a lot was, sure, some people thought that I did something wrong in their eyes. But I think it was really wrong of someone to put on top of someone that this is my shame and that I should be ashamed of myself."
"They want to know why I go on TV shows with no shirt on [now]," Miley added. "Blame them," she said, pointing to the Post headline.
She also spoke candidly about the burdens of being a role model, a part she's since seized playing by, in her words, "my free-spiritedness and sometimes my unapologetic attitude for decisions that I feel comfortable with."
A lot can change in 10 years — but Miley's ability to keep being herself hasn't. Watch the full segment above.