Miley Cyrus felt 'guilty' about controversies when she broke away from child star image

Miley Cyrus used to feel "guilty" about the controversy she caused when she broke away from her child star image.

The 30-year-old pop megastar emerged as a teen idol when she started playing the title role on the hit TV series Hannah Montana in the late 2000s but infamously shed her Disney Channel image upon quitting the show with raunchy singles such as We Can't Stop and Wrecking Ball as she matured into her twenties.

While she used to feel "shame" about the upset she caused, she now believes that she was "harshly judged" by others.

She told British Vogue: "I carried some guilt and shame around myself for years because of how much controversy and upset I really caused. Now that I'm an adult, I realise how harshly I was judged. I was harshly judged as a child by adults and now, as an adult, I realise that I would never harshly judge a child."

Meanwhile, Miley divorced The Last Song co-star Liam Hemsworth in 2020 after less than two years of marriage and has now reflected that she "wouldn't erase" any part of her history as she continues to make "proud" choices that "protect" her as she goes through life.

She added: "I wouldn't erase my story or want it to be erased. Having an interesting life makes for interesting storytelling. I make choices that I'm proud of that protect me... I put my mental and physical health before a pay cheque...

"I freed up space for myself to be with friends and family doing what I love, which is working out, eating well, learning ways about how to enhance my life, staying dedicated to practices and protocols that are specifically designed for me."

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