Miley Cyrus Reflects on Early Controversies and Being First Person to ‘Ever Be Canceled’

Miley Cyrus is looking back on some of the controversies that marked her early career.

In a teaser for an upcoming interview on CBS Sunday Morning, airing Oct. 5, the 32-year-old pop star responded to a question from host Tracy Smith about the backlash she faced from angry moms during her transition from Hannah Montana to a more provocative music career.

“I was the first person to maybe ever be canceled, I guess,” Cyrus says in the clip, shared on CBS Sunday Morning’s Instagram. “I didn’t know until I was older, actually, how brutal it really was.”

Cyrus first rose to fame as the star of Disney Channel’s Hannah Montana, which debuted in March 2006 to a record-breaking 5.4 million viewers — the highest in the network’s history at that time. She was just 13 years old when she played Miley Stewart, a teenager leading a secret double life as a Malibu student by day and a global pop star by night. The show ran until 2011.

After her success on the show, Cyrus made a bold transformation with a more edgy and provocative image, releasing albums like 2010’s Can’t Be Tamed and 2013’s Bangerz, the latter debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.

Despite the backlash, the “Flowers” singer said she enjoyed the experience, even amid the criticism.

“It was very challenging for other people, but for me it was a good time,” Cyrus says in the teaser. “It looked fun and it was fun. It wasn’t until I was older that I realized how harsh…”

She added, “I would never now, being where I am, ever look at someone in their 20s from the view of who I am now,” she said. “But at the time, it was awesome.”

While Cyrus reflected on her experience as an early figure in cancel culture, many of the post’s commenters pointed out that other female pop stars faced similar or even harsher backlash before her.

“I love you Miley forever, but we all know MADONNA was the first and most cancelled person ever in the music industry,” one person wrote. Another said, “Britney Spears would definitely disagree.” A third noted, “First person .. what about Christina Aguilera’s controversy with her song Dirty ? She received so much backlash.”

Cyrus is also expected to discuss her journey to sobriety, her family, and her ninth studio album, Something Beautiful, during the upcoming CBS Sunday Morning interview. The episode will also feature an interview with singer Cat Stevens (now Yusuf), who will talk about his new autobiography, Cat On The Road To Findout.

This isn’t the first time Cyrus has opened up about her turbulent past. Earlier this year, she spoke candidly about the Bangerz era, a time when she shocked audiences with risqué outfits and provocative performances, challenging her previous squeaky-clean image as a Disney Channel star.

“That was the time where I just got hit so hard, and I was so embarrassed,” Cyrus said in June during an interview with Monica Lewinsky on the Reclaiming podcast, referring to the intense criticism.

“There was even a time where my brother and sister didn’t want to go to school, because of how humiliated they were to be related to me,” she continued. “I had a lot of guilt about how hard it would’ve been to be my sibling or my parent, and how embarrassing.”

Check out a teaser of Cyrus’ upcoming interview on CBS Sunday Morning on Instagram below.