Miley Cyrus is actually a great role model. Here’s why
When you think of Miley Cyrus hosting the VMAs, what comes to mind? Well, not surprisingly, there were the countless wardrobe changes made mostly of strategically-placed straps, a handful of marijuana references and a lot of bleeping. And, despite the absence of the signature twerk, there was the presence of a nip slip and the blossoming of a brand new feud. Yes, as expected, the 22-year-old brought both the planned and the unplanned drama to the show.
As a host, the consensus is, she held it down. She was confident – despite being clad in multiple sets of latex pasties and sky-high platforms. She was quick witted, playfully teasing Bieber after his tearful performance and Kanye after his 12-minute Vanguard Award ramble. And, she was calm, even after Nicki Minaj called her out on live TV.
Cyrus performing at the VMAs (Getty Images)
It’s the moment we all replayed over and over, when Minaj abruptly ended her acceptance speech by calling Cyrus a b–ch for talking negatively about her in the press. Some say it was staged, others swear that neither of them are good enough actors to fake that kind of tension. But still, the cameras were ready – quickly cutting to Cyrus after Minaj’s shots were fired to get her rebuttal: “We all do interviews and we know how they can manipulate s–t,” only to cut back to Minaj in time to catch her mouthing the words, “Don’t play with me…” among some other colourful language and her signature deadpan, side-eyed glare.
All this thanks to a New York Times article, published last week, in which Cyrus was asked to weigh in on the (now squashed) Taylor Swift/Nicki Minaj Twitter feud. In her defense, it does seem like she is being provoked for more of a response, first stating that she’s staying out of it and then after a few more pointed questions starts into a rant about Minaj. In it she states that the rapper went about it all wrong, using hate and drama in attempts to make a bigger point about racial discrimination in the music industry. Cyrus explains, “What I read sounded very Nicki Minaj, which, if you know Nicki Minaj is not too kind. It’s not very polite. I think there’s a way you speak to people with openness and love. You don’t have to start this pop star against pop star war. It became Nicki Minaj and Taylor in a fight, so now the story isn’t even on what you wanted it to be about.”
Some would say it’s really rich to hear this coming from Cyrus who is usually all about poking proverbial the bear – what with all the foam finger grinding and such. Coupled with a recent survey that names Cyrus as parents’ worst nightmare when it comes to a celebrity role model, it can often be hard to look past her nude Instagrams and on-stage antics. But, at the risk of playing the devil’s advocate, if you look past the gimmicks – it seems like the former Disney star may not be such a bad egg after all.
First, at the root of her NYT diss, is a message of kindness, at one point saying, “People forget that the choices that they make and how they treat people in life affect you in a really big way. If you do things with an open heart and you come at things with love, you would be heard…” Without getting into the racial argument, I think Cyrus is trying to promote kindness, which seems to be consistent with her overall message these days.
Earlier in the week Cyrus appeared on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” dressed in the expected “as naked and colourful as possible” uniform. Off the bat, Jimmy asked her about what her dad thinks of the risqué attire. Her response? He’d rather me have my tits out and be a good person than wear a shirt and be a b—ch.” Kinda hard to argue with that logic.
I’m not a parent but I think raising a positive, happy and thoughtful child is a much bigger priority than raising one with a modest fashion sense. But, in this very conservative society where young women are sent home from school for showing too much skin and bullied for sexual experimentation, Cyrus’s message almost always gets lost behind the outrage over the ways in which she chooses to convey those messages.
Getty Images
But she’s not just talking the talk, she seems to also be walking the walk. If you couldn’t tell by the literal rainbow flag she wore during last night’s broadcast, she is a longstanding advocate for LGBT rights. In fact, earlier this year, Cyrus started a charity called The Happy Hippie Foundation, an organization aimed at helping homeless youth, particularly in the LGBT community. If you recall, Cyrus, who recently revealed that she herself doesn’t identify with any one label of sexuality, watched with teary eyes as her homeless friend Jesse accepted the coveted Video of the Year VMA on her behalf at last years award show. She preaches acceptance – and is all about letting her fans know it’s OK to be who you are – even if you feel like you don’t fit in.
At the end of the day, the point is not to defend Miley and all her outrageous actions, but just to alert haters and naysayers to the messages of good will and positivity that she’s attempting to spread, albeit in non-conventional ways. She may not walk or talk like the “good role models” in Hollywood these days, but she may just be the one you want your children to look up to, after all.
