Miley Cyrus Reveals Famous VMA's Performance Traumatized Her From Wearing Shorts

Miley Cyrus sticking out her tongue in 2013 Blurred Lines VMAs performance screenshot

It’s been seven years since Miley Cyrus shocked the world with a brand new look and attitude at the 2013 VMAS. However, she doesn’t really look back super fondly on her still-memorable TV moment. In fact, now Cyrus says her performance with Robin Thicke led to her being unable to “wear shorts” or really deal with what happened for years.

You remember the performance. The singer was performing at the famous MTV event when she stripped out of a mouse bodysuit and into a bikini for a rendition of the then-massive hit “Blurred Lines.” Robin Thicke popped up onstage to do the song with her and Miley Cyrus famously brandished a foam finger.

In her new social series Bright Minded, Miley Cyrus talked about her shorts phobia following the performance, noting she kept getting compared to a “turkey.”

I basically went through two or three years where I wouldn’t wear shorts. I stopped wearing skirts on stage, all this shit, because after the VMAs and I had on my cute new bodysuit, everyone started comparing me to a turkey. I was like just so skinny and so pasty and they kept putting me next to this turkey, and I was feeling so bad about myself that I did not wear a bikini for like two years.

It should be mentioned that running around with a bikini and a foam finger was not among the wildest moments in Miley Cyrus’ long career: She once posed naked with a pig for example. Then, there’s her famous also-nude video for "Wrecking Ball." Now, she says despite this brazen public persona she was insecure in her personal life.

If you don’t remember this now-famous performance, the Internet is forever and you can see what Miley Cyrus wore for the “Blurred Lines” performance in particular below.

Look, being famous can be brutal in some ways. Your choices are plastered all over the internet, from tabloids to social media. Plus, we live in a day and age when the average person can get roasted for saying the wrong thing on the Internet. Celebrities are even more in the spotlight and the performance in question even incurred the ire of the Parents Television Council.

Miley Cyrus continued in her comments to talk about the body-shaming she says she experienced after the VMAS.

No one thought that that would’ve ever made me feel some type of way. It was just really really hurtful to be so body-shamed like that. And it really affected me in my personal life.

Her new series Bright Minded is about finding ways to stay positive, so it’s not a surprise that this story ties into how she has tried to grow and change her mindset during varying parts of her career.

Bright Minded is going to be a continual series for Miley Cyrus, at least during this coronavirus business. In fact, Miley Cyrus is even having some of her celebrity guest friends appear on the show. Demi Lovato was the scheduled guest on Tuesday when this comment about finding ways to be secure onstage occurred.

Lovato also spoke out about her personal struggles, particularly with eating and drugs in Hollywood.

Jessica Rawden
Managing Editor

Jessica Rawden is Managing Editor at CinemaBlend. She’s been kicking out news stories since 2007 and joined the full-time staff in 2014. She oversees news content, hiring and training for the site, and her areas of expertise include theme parks, rom-coms, Hallmark (particularly Christmas movie season), reality TV, celebrity interviews and primetime. She loves a good animated movie. Jessica has a Masters in Library Science degree from Indiana University, and used to be found behind a reference desk most definitely not shushing people. She now uses those skills in researching and tracking down information in very different ways. 

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