Miley Cyrus Revealed How ‘Hannah Montana’ Impacted Her Psychologically as a Kid
Miley Cyrus’ career took off when she played Hannah Montana on the Disney Channel and, while she’s thankful for the opportunity, she admitted in an interview that playing the role did have a psychological impact on her as a kid. Find out what she said about her Disney days.
Miley Cyrus became a household name with ‘Hannah Montana’
Hannah Montana launched Cyrus’ career. She played the title character for four seasons and a movie, plus it allowed Cyrus to start her singing career as a Disney star. Prior to landing the dual role of average everyday teenager Miley Stewart and pop superstar Hannah Montana, Cyrus only had a handful of acting credits on her resume.
Cyrus’ dad, Billy Ray Cyrus, played her TV father on Hannah Montana and, while the two enjoyed the success of the hit Disney Channel show, Billy Ray told GQ magazine in 2011 how it “destroyed” his family.
“The damn show destroyed my family,” Billy Ray said during a tumultuous time for the Cyrus family, explaining how he wished that he and Miley never did the show.
“I’d take it back in a second,” he explained. “For my family to be here and just everybody be okay, safe and sound and happy and normal would have been fantastic.”
“Heck, yeah. I’d erase it all in a second if I could,” Billy Ray added.
Miley Cyrus revealed the psychological impact of being a Disney star
During a Dec. 2 interview on The Howard Stern Show, Cyrus revealed that playing Hannah Montana was damaging to her perception of herself as a kid.
“Some of my audience was so attached to a character, which wasn’t me,” she explained. “So, then that does a lot of psychological stuff, where it’s like, ‘Am I valuable as myself?’”
She continued, “OK, the whole show’s premise was that when I had my normal hair and looked like myself, no one gave a sh*t about me. And then when I got all dolled up and put a wig on, all of a sudden, you know, I’m being chased by people chasing my tour bus. So, that’s a lot to put on a kid — to go, ‘When you’re yourself, no one gives a f*ck.’”
“But then when they go and kind of groom you to look like something else, something that you’re not, and you’re really young, and it’s a lot of makeup and, you know, wigs and all this stuff, it does something psychologically,” she added.
Despite her criticism about how the show’s plot and message made her question her worth, Cyrus said it didn’t really scar her for life. She explained she’s “not mad about it.”
“I know how to lay down a wig like nobody else’s business. That I learned,” Cyrus joked.
When she finished the show, Cyrus definitely distanced herself from the Hannah Montana character and from her Disney Channel roots.
