10 Years After The Infamous Foam Finger: How Miley Cyrus' VMA Stunt Changed Everything

The image of Miley Cyrus, clad in a teddy bear leotard and suggestively wielding a giant foam finger, remains one of the most indelible, shocking, and career-defining moments in 21st-century pop culture. On August 25, 2013, at the MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs), the former Disney star shed her *Hannah Montana* past in a blaze of highly sexualized controversy, performing a medley of "We Can't Stop" and "Blurred Lines" with Robin Thicke.

Now, over a decade later, the true cost and lasting impact of that performance—which centered around the infamous foam finger prop—continue to be discussed, especially with the release of her reflective song "Used To Be Young" and recent high-profile interviews. The performance was not just a stunt; it was a calculated cultural reset that, as Cyrus herself has recently revealed, came with a heavy personal price tag.

Miley Ray Cyrus: Biographical Profile

The journey from Disney darling to pop provocateur is central to understanding the 2013 VMA moment. Here is a brief profile of the artist:

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• Full Name: Miley Ray Cyrus (Born Destiny Hope Cyrus)
• Date of Birth: November 23, 1992
• Place of Birth: Franklin, Tennessee, U.S.
• Occupation: Singer, Songwriter, Actress
• Active Years: 2001–Present
• Father: Billy Ray Cyrus (Country Singer)
• Key Eras/Albums: *Hannah Montana* (2006–2011), *Bangerz* (2013), *Plastic Hearts* (2020), *Endless Summer Vacation* (2023)
• Notable Achievements: Grammy Award Winner (including Record of the Year for "Flowers" in 2024), Multiple Platinum Certifications.

The Anatomy of a Cultural Reset: Why the Foam Finger Shocked the World

The 2013 VMA performance was designed to be explosive, but few anticipated the scale of the backlash. The use of the giant foam finger—an innocuous, traditionally wholesome sports prop—was the perfect visual metaphor for the performance's themes of sexualization and rebellion.

The act saw Cyrus "grinding" on the finger and later on Robin Thicke, incorporating the highly debated dance move known as twerking. The juxtaposition of the innocent teddy bear motif with the overtly sexual choreography created a jarring spectacle that dominated headlines for weeks. Critics from all corners—media, parents, and even the inventor of the foam finger—weighed in.

Steve Chmelar, the inventor of the foam finger, publicly stated that Cyrus "degraded" the "honorable icon" with her suggestive use of the prop. The moment transcended music news, sparking widespread debate on topics ranging from cultural appropriation to the hyper-sexualization of young female artists in the music industry. The *Bangerz* era, defined by this performance, became synonymous with a deliberate, aggressive break from her Disney past, an attempt to control her own narrative through shock value.

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The performance was an undeniable commercial success, catapulting the *Bangerz* album and singles like "Wrecking Ball" and "We Can't Stop" to massive global sales. The controversy was the engine of her transition, cementing her status as a global pop icon unafraid of confrontation. The foam finger, in effect, became a symbol of her newfound, unapologetic artistic freedom.

Miley’s Recent Retrospective: The True Cost of the VMA Stunt

In the years immediately following the 2013 VMAs, Miley Cyrus was largely unapologetic, famously stating that she was "thinking about it more than anyone else." However, her recent reflections, particularly around the 10-year anniversary of the event and the release of her 2023 single "Used To Be Young," offer a much more nuanced and candid perspective on the emotional and personal fallout.

In a 2024 interview on Monica Lewinsky's "Reclaiming" podcast, Cyrus opened up about the profound impact of the *Bangerz* era. She revealed that the constant scrutiny and the drastic change in her public persona caused her to "lose everything" in her personal life, including several important relationships.

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The performance, and the entire aesthetic of the *Bangerz* period, was a desperate attempt to prove she was no longer the character she played on *Hannah Montana*. She has since described the period as one of immense pressure and a feeling of being trapped by the narrative she had created. The foam finger, while a tool of liberation on stage, became a chain in her private life.

From Twerking to Grammy Gold: The Evolution of an Icon

The distance of a decade allows for a clearer view of the VMA moment’s place in her career. It was a chaotic, yet necessary, bridge from her Disney past to her current status as a critically acclaimed, Grammy-winning artist. The shock value of the foam finger performance paved the way for the artistic maturity seen in later works like *Plastic Hearts* and the record-breaking success of her 2023 album *Endless Summer Vacation*.

Her recent success, exemplified by the 2024 Grammy wins for "Flowers," stands as the ultimate vindication of her decision to break free. She proved that the *Bangerz* era was not a derailment but a volatile, necessary phase of self-discovery. The memory of the foam finger remains a powerful cultural touchstone, but for Miley Cyrus, it now represents a painful, yet formative, chapter in a much larger, more enduring story of artistic evolution and self-reclamation.