It’s pretty easy to assume that many actors, musicians, and others with extremely front-facing jobs in entertainment want all eyes on them as much as possible. After all, while you can be in such a career, make a living, and still go basically unnoticed, it’s also entirely possible that you’ll one day become famous and have your every move religiously tracked, and lots of people will think that was part of your goal the whole time. Despite Miley Cyrus’ previous level of foam finger/wrecking ball fame, she recently opened up about not being an attention seeker.
What Did Miley Cyrus Say About Not Seeking Attention?
Though it may be hard to believe, it was almost a full decade ago that the “We Can’t Stop” singer performed that very song at the MTV VMAs, and basically broke the internet, dominating pop culture in the days/weeks/months after. Her much-criticized bikini-clad twerking with Robin Thicke (accompanied by a prominent foam finger and other suggestive movements) is exactly the kind of thing many would think one does just for attention, but she now says that that’s not her. When speaking to British Vogue recently, Cyrus said:
I’m actually not an attention-seeking person, sitting here as a 30-year-old grown woman.
Right now, of course, much of the attention on the very famous grown woman is because of her latest hit single and the new album, Endless Summer Vacation, that it comes from. Part of the reason that song is a hit (aside from it being an absolute banger with a very cool chorus about valuing yourself more than any romance), is because of the rumors that “Flowers” and the video for it are about her and Liam Hemsworth, whom she split from in August 2019 after only nine months of marriage.
The Hannah Montana star even reunited with Disney in the lead up to her album release, but all fans can really talk about is how her song must be about her ex. Her former sister-in-law, Elsa Pataky, was even recently asked about the song, and Cyrus finally felt the need to reveal that the lyrics to “Flowers” used to be different.
In her interview, the star noted realizing now “how harshly I was judged” during her that time in her life after the VMAs, but also offered some solid reflection on what her thought process was like before hitting that stage:
I was creating attention for myself because I was dividing myself from a character I had played. Anyone, when you’re 20 or 21, you have more to prove. ‘I’m not my parents.’ ‘I am who I am.’
Over the past few years, many of us have been able to see how young women in entertainment have been treated for perceived misbehavior, whereas young men don’t get the same kind of negative attention and simply aren’t held up to the same standards. Also, it makes a lot of sense that she just saw that performance as an opportunity to separate herself from the strictly wholesome character she’d played for several years.
While she’s no longer partying like she used to in real life, no one can say that we don’t now see Cyrus as a fully realized grown-ass woman who can and will do whatever she wants whenever she wants, even if that means being a more low-key celeb. So, despite all the harsh criticism, it does appear that it worked out in her favor in the end.
