Miley Cyrus Recalls Feeling “Embarrassed” By Sexist Production Staff At VMAs: “You Would Never Tell Travis Scott Or Adam Levine That He Couldn’t Turn The Beauty Light Off”

Miley Cyrus opens up about a time when a VMAs director was allegedly sexist and embarrassed her.

Times are definitely changing, and women are becoming more confident about speaking up when men in professional settings mistreat them. And no matter how much fame you have, misogynistic men seem to always be peeping around the corner. Singer-songwriter, 27-year-old Cyrus, says that’s what happened before her performance at the MTV Video Music Awards when the artist gave specific lighting notes to a VMAs director. She said she was met with sexist commentary.

“I wanted the lights to be turned off and then the lighting of the room to just be lighting me,” Cyrus explained to Joe Rogan during an appearance on his podcast last week. “So no key light, no beauty light,” she added. “Beauty light is always used on women. And I said turn the fucking lights off. You would never tell Travis Scott or Adam Levine that he couldn’t turn the beauty light off. I want this red lighting.” She continued: “They said, ‘OK, OK ― we’ll just do the same thing that we would do with the guys,’ ’cause like, that’s what I want.”

“And then something that I was doing ― something that I can’t say ― for the VMAs, my bracelets kept getting caught in all this shit and they said, ‘You know you wanted to be treated like a guy and lit like a guy? We wouldn’t be dealing with this if a guy was doing it.’” Cyrus has hosted the VMAs and has performed at the show several times. She recalled the moment being “embarrassing” for her; however, she says it was not out of the ordinary. When asked how she deals with it, Cyrus explained that she tries to be firm and kind.

“I am firm about what I want, but in a way that, you know, you might expect someone might say, ‘Man, she was a diva, she was a bitch.’ But it’s again, it’s like ― OK, have The Weeknd come in here and say the same thing,” Cyrus said, adding that “no one” would ever call Kanye West that just for “choosing what lighting he wants on a performance.” She then questioned: “Why am I not getting that I’m like, you know, a creative mastermind, but I’m becoming a bitch?” Despite the drama, Cyrus stunned audiences with her performance during the Aug. 30 event.