NEW YORK (PIX11) – Even if you tried, you couldn’t avoid hearing about the buzz surrounding Miley Cyrus’s titillating VMA performance Sunday night that left many viewers scratching their heads and asking the question: What just happened?
It was the final phase of the transformation that took Cyrus from the Disney alumni club straight to the strip club, as the child star wiped away the last remnants of her squeaky clean character of Disney’s “Hannah Montana.”
From twerking to rubbing her crotch with an over-sized foam hand, the 20-year-old left Brooklyn parents stunned, including Irene Sanchez.
“I understand [she’s] getting older and wants to find [herself] but no – that was too much,” she told PIX11 News. “It was disgusting.”
Mother Maribel Guillet, who regrets allowing her 7-year-old son Anthony to watch the awards show, shared the same sentiment.
“I feel disgusted for what she did,” Guillet said. “A lot of kids watch that and then they get ideas in their head. My son was watching and I know he definitely got ideas.”
Despite all the criticism, Cyrus did get praise from some Brooklynites for her performance.
“I thought she was awesome,” Baseerah Bilal said “She’s not young anymore. She’s not Hannah Montana so when you grow up — you grow up.”
From inside the Barclays center to Twitter, the response was fast and furious. A shot of actor Will Smith and his children watching the live show went viral, and pretty much said it all. (It was later determined the screen shot was of the family reacting to Lady Gaga’s performance.)
Meantime, the comedians of Twitter wasted no time, producing several memes including one that compared Miley to Jim Carey’s classic “In Living Color” sketch character Venus De-Milo.
Amid all the jokes and controversy, the ex-Disney star was clearly on a mission outside of stunning the masses.
“Her goal is to get out of the whole Hannah Montana thing,” Justin Prager, Director of Content Development and Talent Bookings at Music Choice.
According to Prager, Cyrus’ performance was more about building her brand, where she reminded viewers that she is no longer a child and wants to be recognized as an adult performer seeking an adult audience.
“Whether it is good or bad, it’s definitely a situation where people are talking about her.”
One person who is talking about her – sort of – is the starlet’s famous dad, Billy Ray Cyrus. The proud papa appears to be in his daughter’s corner, tweeting for all the “blessings” Sunday night.
