Miley Cyrus Says Years Starring As “Hannah Montana” Did “Extreme Damage” to her Psyche
Hannah Montana put Miley Cyrus on the map, with the fictional pop star going on to become a bona fide star in her own right. Still, the “Malibu” singer has made no secret of the fact that the experience had its drawbacks, as well, telling Elle back in September that she was probably the lowest paid person on the show. Now, the former Disney star is opening up about her childhood experiences on the show even further to CBS Sunday Morning, telling the outlet that her titular character did “extreme damage” to her psyche.
Looking back on her childhood as a Disney Channel darling, Cyrus, 24, admits that her life wasn’t exactly normal. “I think now that I’m older, now I realize that’s a lot to put on a kid,” she says of her years on TV and touring. “It’s a lot to put on a kid, to have them have to go get their makeup done, and also balance school, and also have me dress up in a wig as a kid is a little weird — it’s a little Toddlers & Tiaras.”
The effects have been lasting, with the engaged singer laughingly saying, “I think that’s probably what’s a little bit wrong with me now! I mark that up to doing some extreme damage in my psyche as an adult person.”
She also gave some insight into her transitional Bangerz era, the notoriety from which she says helped her to feel at ease co-existing in a world with other celebs, such as Paul McCartney, whom she met while inducting Joan Jett into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. “I, like, went and introduced myself [to Paul McCartney] with nipple pasties on. And he turned bright red. Like he looked so red, and that I really liked,” she said, adding, “I would be so freaked out to meet Paul McCartney, that then he was freaked out to meet me! So the roles just reversed.”
As for the new, more subtle musical style seen on her latest work, Younger Now, Cyrus told CBS the reason for the album and song title is due, in part, to an awakening in the last few years. “I’m in a really different place,” she said. “But I feel like all the people that I’ve ever been are just sitting right here in, you know, inside. And I feel those ways, too.”
“In the beginning [of the song “Younger Now”] it says, ‘Feels like I just woke up, like all this time I’ve been asleep. Even though it’s not who I am, I’m not afraid of who I used to be.’ And then it says, ‘No one stays the same.’ Everything we’ve sat here and talked about [during the interview] is what that song means.”
What’s your favorite Miley Cyrus incarnation? Tell us @BritandCo!
(Photos via Stephen Shugerman, Gabe Ginsberg, + Issac Brekken/Getty)
