"Hannah Montana" caused Body Dysmorphia for young Miley Cyrus
It really wasn't the best of both worlds.
News about Miley Cyrus' battle with body dysmorphia during her 'Hannah Montana' days has really come in like a wrecking ball! It comes as a surprise to many because Hannah Montana was the persona that every little girl in the United States wanted to mimic back in the day. Hannah Montana was a disney phenomenon during the prime years of Disney Channel. Cyrus came after the days of Hilary Duff's Lizzie McGuire pop stars days. Cyrus was popular before Nickelodeon's Victorious and Disney's High School Musical. She controlled the market and with no real pop star competition in the mainstream music industry, Cyrus was able to dominate. She went on tour selling out stadiums that no entertainer had ever done before.
And then it all changed.
Miley Cyrus started to show signs of someone who was drastically unrecognizable to the bubble gum sparkly pop princess the country fell in love with. First, Cyrus at age 15, shocked the world when a picture of her holding only a sheet over her chest graced Vogue. Though Annie Leibovitz, world famous photographer, is known for provocative and shockingly amazing photos, people were horrified to see a tween girl being sexualized. However, the cutesy image continued to be quickly discarded after the Hannah Montana movie. We saw "Party In The USA", "The Climb", and "7 Things I Hate About You". But then she hit the ultimate turning point in her shocking song, "I Can't Be Tamed". The teenage years would surprise everyone and Cyrus showed that she wasn't kidding around. Twerking, tongue wagging, nudity, drugs, alcohol, and a short pixie haircut would be Cyrus' new image and she continues to create controversy with each passing year. However, she has never felt more like herself. That was then.
She wore sparkly clothing with bedazzled jewelry. She was your typical American pop star with a platinum blonde wig and blue eyes. It was all confetti, backup dancers, and lazer lights before Cyrus even realized what was going on.
"From the time I was 11, it was, 'You're a pop star! That means you have to be blonde, and you have to have long hair, and you have to put on some glittery tight thing,'" Miley told Marie Claire for their September issue,"Meanwhile, I'm this fragile little girl playing a 16-year-old in a wig and a ton of makeup. It was like Toddlers & Tiaras."
Though Cyrus didn't feel comfortable with all of the changes, she remained silent. How could she complain? Her life was perfect from an outsider's view. She was getting everything she ever wanted, well, THOUGHT she wanted. But Cyrus quickly learned she wasn't being herself and that needed to change.
"I was made to look like someone that I wasn't, which probably caused some body dysmorphia because I had been made pretty every day for so long, and then when I wasn't on that show, it was like, Who the f**k am I?"
This is now.
She's 22-years-old and just completed her sexually exhilarating Bangerz Tour in October. With major hits like "Wrecking Ball", "Adore You", and "We Can't Stop", Cyrus has been raking in the money. She's currently working on her fifth studio album that will undoubtedly hit number one on the charts as soon as it's released. Cyrus is even hosting the highly anticipated 2015 VMAs this year guaranteeing that it'll be a spectacle. But even though she is finally comfortable in her own skin and reaping success, she has never forgotten her past.
"I would have anxiety attacks. I'd get hot flashes, feel like I was about to pass up or throw up. It would happen a lot before shows, and I'd have to cancel. Then the anxiety started coming from anxiety," Miley shared. "You get in this hole that seems like you're never going to be able to get out of."
Cyrus also continued to note that she'd "probably never going to be the face of a traditional beauty company." Her image may be too controversial these days.
"Unless they want a weed-smoking, liberal-ass freak," Miley added. "But my dream was never to sell lip gloss. My dream is to save the world."