Miley Cyrus has spoken out about the "trauma" she experienced from being sexualized in the media since she was 16 years old.
The singer/actress, now 28, was thrown into the public spotlight in March 2006, after being cast as the lead role in the Disney Channel show Hannah Montanna.
Originally drawing the largest audience in Disney Channel history, the popular show ran until 2011, and made Cyrus a household name in the process.
However, in a new interview with Rolling Stone, Cyrus has opened up about the "long-term" impact the scrutiny on her body has had on her.
"I think I knew who I was meant to be, but I'm sure there's something in there. Some trauma of feeling so criticized, I think, for what I felt was pretty average teenage, early [twenties] exploration," she said.
However, the star then added that she believes there has been "big progress" in media coverage, "especially towards women and bodies".
The 'Best of Both World' star added: "I don’t even know if you really can slut-shame now. Is that even a thing? The media hasn’t really slut-shamed me in a long time."
Nonetheless, Cyrus did recall a time when she was sexualized at just 16 years old.
"I was like, 'Yo, when I'm 16 and you’re circling my boobs and s**t like that... I'm the bad guy?' I think people are starting to go, 'Wait, wait, wait. That was f***ed up.'
"They’re starting to know who the enemy and who the victim was there," she added.
Miley recently uploaded this retrospective of the last decade to her Instagram account:In another recent interview with Howard Stern, the pop icon and daughter of country music star Billy Ray Cyrus touched upon life in lockdown, the Californian wildfires that torched her home, her breakup from her ex-husband Liam Hemsworth, and her subsequent relationships following their split.
Miley revealed that lockdown guidelines hadn't dampened her love life too much, stating: "[It’s been] really interesting and challenging. I do a lot of FaceTime sex."
Listen to this extract from Miley's interview with Howard Stern below:Cyrus also spoke out about the end of her relationship with actor Liam Hemsworth, saying: "Our house burned down. [Liam and I] had been like, engaged.
"I don't know if we really ever thought we were actually going to get married, but when we lost our house in Malibu – which if you listen to my voice pre and post-fire, they’re very different. So that trauma really affected my voice.
"I had so much and it was all gone, every song I had ever written was in that house. Every photograph of me that my parents had given to me, all my scripts, I lost everything.
"And so in trying to put that back together, instead of going: 'Oh, nature kind of did something I couldn't do for myself; it forced me to let go', I ran toward the fire."
She added: "You’re attracted to that heat and me being an intense person and not wanting to sit with it, and not wanting to go, you know: 'What could be purposeful about this?' I just clung to what I had left of that house, which was me and him."
"And I really do and did love him very, very, very much and still do, always will."