We would say "sit down," but you're probably not going to be shocked all that much: The Disney-darling-turned-twerking-diva Miley Cyrus that has become so controversial this past year is not doing so well in the polls.
If you were around for the backlash that followed her tongue-filled, nearly-nude, foam-fingered VMA performance, we bet you're hardly surprised. Twitter exploded with criticism and disapproval, but even prior, people loved to hate on her short, blunt haircut and her "is it still on?!" engagement to Liam Hemsworth.
Quantifiably, Miley Cyrus' public image has changed even more dramatically than her appearance over the past three years.
Celebrity DBI, an independent index that quantifies and qualifies consumer perceptions of 3,082 celebrities (actors, musicians, models, athletes and politicians), measured Miley’s impact when it comes to seven attributes: appeal, aspiration, breakthrough, endorsement, influence, trend-setter and trust.
In December 2010, she was in the top 3 percent in influence and trend-setter and top 23 percent for endorsement. As of August 2013, Miley ranks in the bottom 1 percent for appeal, aspiration, breakthrough, endorsement and trust. She is also in the bottom 20 percent for influence and trend-setter. That’s a hard and significant fall for under three years.
There are more statistics directed towards more specific demographics:
- For men and women over 55 -- only 1 percent report liking her a lot.
- In the 13-17 age group, 35 percent say they dislike her a lot.
- In the 18-24 age group, a whopping 43 percent dislike her a lot.
The public has clearly responded to Miley's erratic and unexpected behavior, particularly the younger generation who grew up with her as Hannah Montana. It seems her target teen girl audience is either no longer identifying with her behavior, or is not finding it appealing or aspirational.
The older demographic clearly no longer considers her a positive role model for today’s youth, as previously demonstrated when Miley and Chris Brown were named the worst celebrity role models by over 2,400 parents back in June.
In August, Time featured an article written by a concerned mother to her daughter, saying "this is what happens when you constantly hear everything you do is awesome. This is what happens when people fawn over your every Tweet and Instagram photo. This is what happens when no responsible adult has ever said the word 'no,' made you change your clothes before leaving the house, or never spanked your butt for deliberate defiance."
Though the extreme distaste for Miley's demeanor is unsurprising, her fall from tween "it girl" to criticized young adult is quite notable. With the way her career's path has changed direction, it seems like she would have to try pretty hard to be even less favorable in the public's eye. Though it seems like rock bottom, one thing we know about Miley Cyrus is that she never has trouble finding a new way to surprise us. For the sake of her fans, we'll hope there are no more of these pigtailed, grill-filled or sledge-hammer-licking surprises.
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