Miley Cyrus says she didn't mean to create backlash with controversial 'stripper pole' performance

Miley Cyrus has said she never meant to cause backlash with a controversial ‘stripper pole’ – it was actually way more innocent.

The 30-year-old has been on our screens and in our ears since she was a child, growing up on Disney Channel as Hannah Montana.

Cyrus became both a movie and pop star, starring in the likes of The Last Song with her ex-husband Liam Hemsworth and releasing hits such as ‘Wrecking Ball’.

And one of her most iconic early songs just has to be 2009’s ‘Party in the U.S.A’ – which you can’t deny is still a bop to this day.

But the first live performance of the track divided her fans when she took to the stage at the Teen Choice Awards that year.

During the song, many viewers reckoned the young Cyrus was dancing with a ‘stripper pole’ but now she’s taking her chance to clear up the controversy.

John Shearer/TCA 2009/WireImage/Getty Images

The ‘Flowers’ singer is looking back on her past and ‘sharing untold stories’ in a new TikTok series to tie in with the release of her latest single, ‘Used to be Young’.

In the recent Part 21 video, she says the idea of the performance came from her mom, who thought it would be ‘really cool’ to be set in a trailer park ‘cos that’s where we really do come from’.

So, Cyrus found herself dancing on top of an ice cream cart ‘with a stripper pole – but it wasn’t a stripper pole’.

She said: “It was actually just for stability, I had a heel on. Guys, what did you want from me?

“Was I really gonna do my performance without dancing on top of an ice cream cart?”

TikTok/@mileycyrus

Although she says the performance was ‘amazing’ she added: “My pitch was a little off and the hat needed to go.”

The video then shows a photo of Cyrus on stage alongside a similar snap of Britney Spears with the headline: “Is Miley turning into the next Britney?”

And the star has an iconic response as she says: “Hopefully! If God is good! Which we know she is.”

In other parts of her TikTok series, the star has opened up about her relationship with dad Billy Ray Cyrus, her ‘undeniable chemistry’ with Liam Hemsworth as young stars and her shocking daily schedule from when she was just 12.

In that video, Cyrus looks back on the countless interviews, photoshoots and early starts as she says: “I’m a lot of things, but lazy ain’t one of them. I do think this girl deserves a little Endless Summer Vacation.”