Miley Cyrus Responds To Backlash Over Comments About Hip-Hop Music

Miley Cyrus took to social media Saturday to clarify controversial comments she made about rap and hip-hop music in a recent Billboard cover interview.

After talking to the magazine about her new music and her rekindled love for Liam Hemsworth, Cyrus said she “can’t listen to” rap music anymore.

“That’s what pushed me out of the hip-hop scene a little,” she continued. “It was too much ‘Lamborghini, got my Rolex, got a girl on my cock’ — I am so not that.”

People quickly responded online, criticizing Cyrus for the ease with which she could discard a genre that had demonstrably influenced and propelled her previous public persona.

“When articles are read it isn’t always considered that for hours I’ve spoken with a journalist about my life, where my heart is, my perspective at that time, and the next step in my career,” Cyrus began an Instagram caption posted Saturday. “Unfortunately only a portion of that interview made it to print.”

“To be clear, I respect ALL artists who speak their truth and appreciate ALL genres of music (country, pop, alternative ... but in this particular interview I was asked about rap),” she continued. “I have always and will continue to love and celebrate hip hop as I’ve collaborated with some of the very best!”

It sounds like the singer’s intentions were good, but even with the added clarification, Cyrus doesn’t address the crux of much of the criticism — namely, how easily she felt she could don, and subsequently shed, sound and aesthetics borrowed from black culture and music.

During the time of her 2013 release, “Bangerz,” Cyrus capitalized on the rising trap scene to cement her transition from Disney teen to full-fledged adult singer.

As HuffPost’s Zeba Blay pointed out, “What’s incredibly telling is how, once she achieved that success, it seemed like the plan was always to discard hip-hop music and black culture like the costume that it was,” also noting “how convenient it is for her to call out hip-hop’s misogyny” after trafficking in those same tropes for earlier iterations of her act.