This is a story with legs.
And other parts of the anatomy.
Once upon a not-too-short time ago, kids everywhere would say that one of their favorite shows was “Hanna Montana” on the Disney Channel — a show that symbolized Disney entertainment growing up a bit from the days of the 50s. Even now when new episodes are not being taped, kids know and love the show and many of them know that their favorite star has grown up.
Oh how she has grown up. There are people who’ve sought to shed their childhood actor incarnations before — and most assuredly, Cyrus shed hers, along with clothing and the image of someone who was tastefull. Still, it gets lots of attention in the media (note this blog post) and it means BIG bucks since America rewards notoriety and pushing the envelope…or lowering the bar. Robin Thicke picked Miley Cyrus to do his hit “Blurred Lines” onstage with him at the MTV Video Music Awards Sunday night and Cyrus obliterated any lines linking her to her more pristine persona. She certainly wasn’t following the Annette Funacello model.
Watch it in full:
Some Twitter reaction:
"Miley Cyrus debasing herself in some misguided attempt to be seen as an adult sexual being… made her seem younger" http://t.co/2iCnWGoshG
— Washington Post (@washingtonpost) August 27, 2013
Remember when Jamie Foxx said Miley Cyrus would end up on a stripper pole and had to apologize? .. I think someone owes Mr. Foxx an apology
— pew pew murica (@pewpewmurica) August 27, 2013
I do not have a problem w/ @mileycyrus being sexual. I have a problem w/ her thinking that this is "hood" behavior.
— Zerlina Maxwell (@ZerlinaMaxwell) August 27, 2013
People's faces during Miley Cyrus's "performance" pic.twitter.com/uPsqp6ctK2
— Taylor Swift Updates (@Tswiftdotcom) August 27, 2013
i've been trying to come up with a Miley Cyrus joke all day, but it's just not twerking.
— Naaz (@SavedByMyBands) August 27, 2013
"Miley was the one star in the room who truly understood what the MTV Video Music Awards are all about!" – Rolling Stone
— Miley Ray Cyrus (@MileyCyrus) August 27, 2013
"The bigger issue with Miley Cyrus is her complete obliviousness to the differences in public reaction…" http://t.co/TC9HQXcC9N
— Trent (@marfmellow) August 27, 2013
The Onion eerily predicted Miley Cyrus' downfall in 2008 http://t.co/J473Ko1z4q
— Huffington Post (@HuffingtonPost) August 27, 2013
Miley Cyrus gave a lewd performance on MTV. This was clearly orchestrated by Obama to distract us from BENGHAZI. #GOP
— GOP Unplugged (@GOPunplugged) August 27, 2013
Mika Brzezinski: Miley Cyrus VMA Performance 'Disturbing,' 'Disgusting,' 'Pathetic' (VIDEO) http://t.co/OgPs7kM1wp via @HuffPostMedia
— morningmika (@morningmika) August 27, 2013
Can we punish Assad by launching a missile armed with Miley Cyrus?
— Harold Itzkowitz (@HaroldItz) August 27, 2013
Miley Cyrus's horrible race-baiting VMA performance along with all the shocked reaction shots–VIDEO: http://t.co/oqFblk1aEd
— Slate (@Slate) August 26, 2013
Did you see @MileyCyrus on the VMA's? Does her tongue hanging out mean she's dehydrated?
— Bette Midler (@BetteMidler) August 26, 2013
The only Miley Cyrus #VMA comparison needed.. #ThisWinsTheInternetToday pic.twitter.com/IwR6UlAq31
— Arda Ocal (@arda_ocal) August 26, 2013
NOTE: Excuse the technical glitch. Embedding was copied from Twitter for for some reason it shows them twice, in two different formats.
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.