12 Controversial Miley Cyrus Outfits That Caused A Stir

Miley Cyrus has never been one to shy away from controversy. Almost from the moment she burst onto television screens as the star of The Disney Channel show "Hannah Montana," Cyrus has courted headlines thanks to her behavior, mystifying musical directions, and some truly wild fashion. "I carried some guilt and shame around myself for years because of how much controversy and upset I really caused," Cyrus told British Vogue in 2023. However, she's come to recognize that she wasn't necessarily responsible for all of the backlash, and a lot of the vitriol was the result of a harsh, unforgiving media landscape. "I was harshly judged as a child by adults and now, as an adult, I realise that I would never harshly judge a child," she said.

Many of her most outrageous looks have led to a lot of pearl-clutching from society, leading a lot of people to ask how a former role model could wear something so scandalous. Still others have pushed the limits of good taste, inviting jokes from people who simply couldn't be bothered to interpret any sort of artistic intent behind Cyrus's attention-grabbing garments. The feedback has occasionally been vicious and cruel, pointed, and sometimes seriously sexist. The following outfits, in particular, caused a serious stir.

With the release of her 2010 album, "Can't Be Tamed," Miley Cyrus moved away from her Disney-approved image — and fans were none too pleased. One young fan told The New York Times, "She used to be more kid-friendly, sweeter. Now she is just Miley." Another commented, "I wish she'd be the same as the show."

Cyrus, however, told BBC Radio 1 that she wasn't interested in criticism from people who were concerned about her more adult image, noting that everyone goes through growing pains, but not everyone has them splashed all over the Internet for people to comment on. "They can think what they want ... I think those are people who are just close-minded and don't understand art," she said (via The Toronto Sun).

To support her new album, she made a series of club appearances across Europe, and Cyrus selected some revealing fashion to match her new grown-up image. In June of that year, she performed at a club in Paris wearing a cropped Cheap Trick shirt with low-rise jeans and multiple belts. People mocked the look on Twitter, including one person who wrote, "Miley Cyrus was seen wearing a Cheap Trick shirt while performing in Paris, and no it wasn't referring to the band." Cyrus was only 17 at the time, remember!

She looked back at the Cheap Trick look years later in a video for British Vogue, pointing out the four Balmain belts that she chose to accessorize with. "I wore this because I felt like it was protective, and I also felt like it was a complete difference from Hannah Montana's style," she said. "I had been a character so long, so this was the beginning of like, developing who Miley would be."

In 2012, Miley Cyrus showed up to the Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas wearing a very bold look. In addition to teased hair, Cyrus opted for a Gaultier dress that took the form of a suit jacket with nothing underneath, a look that showed off some serious cleavage. We were still a year out from the "Wrecking Ball" video, so the look showed off more of Cyrus than fans were used to seeing.

Speaking with E! Online, the "Party in the U.S.A." singer explained, "It was the only thing on the rack that I even tried on, because I liked it." She also joked around with the interviewer, insisting that she was unable to really move too much in the look. "I'm very taped," she said. "My hair, face, everything ... can't move."

The breast-baring blazer caused consternation online. "I think you might say Miley Cyrus is trying too hard to be something she's not?" one observer mused on X, while another suggested that she was trying to copy Rihanna's daring fashion sense. When the dust settled on the awards ceremony, Business Insider named Cyrus' outfit one of the "craziest looks" of the night.

At the VMAs in 2013, Miley Cyrus performed "We Can't Stop" while dressed in a sculpted, felted teddy bear corset. The bear winked and stuck its tongue out, its two ears forming the bra cups. Cyrus wore her hair in two tiny buns, pairing them with a bold red lip. "This wouldn't have been as bad without the weird teddy bear theme..." one YouTube commenter pointed out.

In fact, the existence of the teddy bear outfit proved to be a flashpoint for controversy. The Teddy Bear Fund, a charity that gives stuffed animals to children, spoke with TMZ about how disappointed they were in the look. "Miley made a poor choice to use a universally loved children's teddy bear in an offensive way," the organization told the outlet. "There is always good art and bad art — unfortunately ... this was bad art."

Cyrus later looked back at the teddy bear outfit in a video for British Vogue, reminiscing, "This teddy bear costume ... was extremely controversial and made a lot of people angry. I repeat: This teddy bear costume made a lot of people angry." According to Cyrus, artist Todd James, known for his sculptures of teddy bears, was the inspiration for the outfit. She commissioned a Todd James sculpture herself to emerge from at the beginning of her performance, pointing out, "It was a rebirth."

During the "Bangerz" era, Miley Cyrus seemed to generate headlines everywhere she went. The album's tour was no exception thanks to a string of strange, eye-popping outfits, including one particular leotard no one could stop talking about. It wasn't the plunging neckline — it was the fact that the leotard was covered in images of bedazzled marijuana leaves.

Cyrus shared a snap of herself in the look at the tour's Dallas stop on X, drawing commentary from followers who weren't impressed. "dafuq is she doing thinking she's cool with a weed necklace and leotard," one person wrote in response. Many others pointed out that the leotard's severe cut wasn't necessarily flattering, especially given Cyrus' recently-discovered love of twerking. One person perhaps took it too far, tweeting that Cyrus was a "lanky-a**-praying-mantis-no-booty-havin'-ghetto/country-confused-b***h." Yikes.

People tracked down the people responsible for the pot-leaf bodysuit, a designer duo called The Blonds. David Blond told the magazine, "We digitally printed marijuana leaves onto fabric and embellished them to give the bodysuit a three-dimensional effect. Since we know how much she enjoys the Mary Jane." After an outfit like this one, we can safely assume no one had any doubt left about that.

When Miley Cyrus returned to the VMAs in 2015, she was there as the host, not just a performer. Accordingly, she stepped up her strange fashion game, hitting the red carpet in a breast-baring strappy number paired with long blonde dreadlocks. Not everyone liked this look, however. Commenting on a picture of the star, one person tweeted, "Trash."

She changed looks numerous times throughout the night — all of them dubbed "crazy" by Rolling Stone. One bikini looked like a pair of eyes and lips; another look featured long, puffy rainbow sleeves. Still another saw the "WTF Do I Know" singer wrapped in transparent latex, with some strategically placed candy buttons covering up the more intimate bits.

Throughout each look, however, those dreadlocks remained, sparking a debate on Twitter about whether they should be considered cultural appropriation. "If you don't think Miley wearing dreadlocks is [problematic] then idk abt u," one person tweeted. Many others made reference to a then-recent controversy involving Zenday during the Oscars, in which red carpet host Giuliana Rancic said her locs looked like they smelled like weed. "How is it okay for Miley Cyrus to wear dreadlocks and not get s**t for it but Zendaya wears them and does?" one person asked. They then answered their own question, concluding, "Society is f***ed up."

At this point in Miley Cyrus's career, no one should be surprised when she shows up to an event in a look that turns heads. Her ability to generate controversy has perhaps been dulled by a decade of attention-getting fashion, but that doesn't mean Cyrus has stopped pushing the limits. Case in point: the 2024 Grammy Awards, which saw Cyrus show up to the red carpet in a skin-baring Maison Margiela dress made of gold safety pins. Her teased, sculpted hairdo completed the look, leading to much chatter online about what, exactly, she was going for. One tweet read, "Miley Cyrus is rocking some excellent 1980s PTA board mom hair." Others weren't as appreciative. One fan asked, "Why is she naked?"

While a lot of people focused on her hair and the interesting gown, others were perplexed about the Margiela split-toe Tabi heels. The controversial footwear — are they chic or ugly? — has divided opinions, with one X user commenting, "Tabi shoes are like shoes that are cosplaying as horse hooves" (via Daily Mail). However, in early 2024, Kim Kardashian also wore a pair, so they may just be here to stay. After so many years in the spotlight for her scandalous fashion, we can safely say that Cyrus is here to stay, too.