Miley Cyrus says she was judged harshly as a child in the public eye

Miley Cyrus has said she realises now as an adult how “harshly” she was judged during her childhood years in the public eye.

The US pop star, now 30, shot to fame as a child on Disney Channel show Hannah Montana. Despite this, the singer became known for her rock ‘n’ roll vibe and often provocative performances.

Notably, she caused controversy at the 2013 VMA awards for twerking, and posed naked on a wrecking ball for the music video for her track of the same name.

Speaking to British Vogue, the star – who is the daughter of US country star Billy Ray Cyrus and the god-daughter of Dolly Parton – said she carried “guilt and shame around” due to the excessive public scrutiny.

Speaking to British Vogue, Cyrus aid: “I carried some guilt and shame around myself for years because of how much controversy and upset I really caused.

“Now that I’m an adult, I realise how harshly I was judged.

Miley Cyrus said in the past she had wanted to divide herself from her Hannah Montana persona (Steven Meisel/British Vogue)

“I was harshly judged as a child by adults and now, as an adult, I realise that I would never harshly judge a child.”

Cyrus said she was “actually not an attention-seeking person” but had inadvertently caused this by dividing herself “from a character I had played”, meaning Hannah Montana.

But she added she would not want her life and career story to become “a complaint of being a woman in the industry”.

“I don’t need this to be a women’s empowerment story. I wear my empowerment at all times,” she said.

“I don’t need to profess it.”

Cyrus also opened up about her marriage to Australian actor Liam Hemsworth.

The on-and-off couple were engaged for the second time in 2016 – and they got married in December, 2018.

However, they were divorced by August 2019.

Cyrus – who released her eighth studio album, Endless Summer Vacation, in March – said of the relationship: “I wouldn’t erase my story or want it to be erased. Having an interesting life makes for interesting storytelling.”

The Flowers singer is the cover star for the June edition of British Vogue.

The full interview feature with Miley Cyrus is available via digital download and on newsstands from Tuesday May 23.