14 DAY TRIAL // Earlier this month, one of the biggest sensations at this year’s Teen Choice Awards was Miley Cyrus, the 16-year-old singer, songwriter and actress that Disney catapulted to international stardom. Miley graced the stage to hand and receive awards, and she also performed “Party in the USA,” one of her hit tracks – and it was precisely this performance that got some media representatives upset.
Speaking with Access Hollywood about Miley’s dance routine at the event, which was deemed inappropriate for her age by several media outlets, as we also informed you at the time, Billy Ray Cyrus, Miley’s dad, says people need to learn the difference between real life and entertaining. He stands by his daughter in everything she does and trusts her decisions are the right ones, Cyrus explains, which is why he would like the media to back off in Miley’s case.
“She loves singing [and] songwriting. I always tell her to love what you’re doing and stay focused for the love of the art and not worry so much about opinion. I give my kids a lot of freedom to make the art they wanna make, and make it in their own voice. I think it’s important.” Billy Ray Cyrus tells Access Hollywood about the wave of criticism his daughter was showered with shortly after the performance.
In all fairness, while only some found Miley’s dance routine completely out of line, there were some who saw in her holding onto a pole the typical gesture that she was ready to break free form her girl image and show the world and the industry that she was ready to grow up both as a person and as a performer. According to them, Miley no longer had available the option the likes of Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera had, who only had to go on Letterman to show that they were ready to start singing for a more mature audience, which is why she might have chosen this particular dance routine.
“She’s entitled to grow up.” Gwen Billings, editor for a publication that covers children and entertainment, was saying for the LA Times shortly after the scandal erupted. Still, no matter what Miley might want, Billings further argued, a responsible adult – her father, in this case – should have been more attentive that certain boundaries were not crossed. “Some do it more gracefully than others. It’s really hard to know who’s making those decisions. I can’t imagine something like this [performance] gets all the way to the stage because a teenager says this is something I want to do. Somebody’s got to provide the pole.” the editor added.