Remember when The Onion said, “Miley Cyrus will be drained dry of entertainment value by 2013”? Well, they could not have been more wrong. The Twitter blow up during Cyrus’ twerking, pelvic-thrusting, butt-slapping performance just goes to show what a national icon the 20 year old star has become.
When Cyrus starred in the popular Disney show Hannah Montana in 2006, we all assumed she would eventually follow the Lindsay Lohan downward spiral and succumb to drugs and bad press or disappear from the entertainment industry like Hilary Duff.
After four successful seasons, two films, and nine albums, the Hannah Montana star stepped down from the Disney spotlight. Despite a reduction in stardom, all was well for Cyrus after that, and she went on releasing albums and touring as Miley Cyrus, starring in chick flicks, and being your average teen celebrity.
But things were getting pretty bland, which is to be expected from a Disney graduate, since she didn’t have a trademark after losing that tween Disney star vibrancy.
That’s when she started to spice things up a bit with the release of her 2010 album, Can’t Be Tamed. The title of this album was meant to stir up a little controversy, marking Cyrus’s transition from the Disney ingénue to a sexy and provocative pop star.
Her music video sure made the point clear; dressed in a black leotard covered with black feathers, Miley Cyrus was done being a Disney icon. Sure, fans and their parents were shocked, but her new image was still on an acceptable level of sexy and provocative. But everything changed when she adopted the notorious “twerk” as her signature dance move.
It was everywhere. Miley Cyrus twerked every chance she got, starting with her scandalous yet phenomenal music video released earlier this summer, “We Can’t Stop.” The video was a random mashup of Cyrus’s current fads, including drugs, nudity, Barbie dolls, and her edgier new crew.
Then as if it was even possible, Miley Cyrus took it to a whole other level at the 2013 MTV VMAs. Teddy bear leotard and huge teddy bear back up dancers? Talk about provocative. Cyrus dared to sully everyone’s childhood best friend. That’s what everyone was gasping about, right? Certainly not about the fact that the twerk master was intensively thrusting her pelvis at the very married Robin Thicke during their collaborative performance. It was an affront to all the teddy bears in the world, and probably traumatized every kid that was watching (not that kids should be awake at 9:30 to watch the VMAs).
Kids may not have been the only ones scarred. After all, Hannah Montana was our generation’s idol, living a double life of your average teenage girl who was also a secret superstar, all the while managing to always have boy troubles. But most of us know what the ex-Disney star is really doing.
Yeah, we figured out your game Miley. Although it may seem as though Cyrus is just randomly twerking and getting naked at every turn (i.e. “Wrecking Ball”), it is actually all a very calculated and deliberate strategy to stay in the spotlight. Perhaps it is also her way of getting back at her ex-fiance. The status of Cyrus’s love life and the timing of her outrageousness coincide perfectly, this ordeal may just be a big middle finger to Liam Hemsworth.