Miley Cyrus may not be over Liam Hemsworth, and she might need to re-examine Elvis Presley’s signature dance move.
During an interview with Australian TV show Sunday Night , Miley made a surprising confession about Liam Hemsworth. According to Life & Style , the singer addressed their current situation by saying, “I love Liam, Liam loves me.”
Obviously, this doesn’t mean that Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth will be getting back together anytime soon, and Miley’s love for her ex might not be of the romantic variety. She’s just a laid-back girl who seems like the type who isn’t going to hold a grudge. Instead of spending her time hating, she’d rather relax by doing fun arts and crafts projects like decorating a five-foot bong .
Miley didn’t say much about Liam Hemsworth during her interview, but according to NME , she had plenty to say about another male celebrity who is famous for his good looks. The former Hannah Montana star bizarrely claimed that Elvis Presley was the original twerker.
“Elvis, he wasn’t wearing the outfits I was wearing but he was coming out and he was doing like the OG twerking… Like, no one wants to admit that he was twerking, he was.”
For one thing, what Elvis Presley was doing wouldn’t technically be considered twerking — he wasn’t trying to make his butt cheeks clap. His signature dance move involved moving his hips and legs, and instead of sticking his butt out, he leaned backward. If anything, his dancing was reverse-twerking.
If Miley really wants to see a celebrity who could be credited with the original twerking, perhaps she should check out Josephine Baker’s Banana Dance. Baker was shaking her backside and wearing skimpy clothing back before movies had sound.
Miley Cyrus went on to claim that Elvis didn’t have to deal with haters because he was male.
“He was like sex. He was a symbol of sex but no one would have ever called Elvis a sh*t because he wasn’t a girl. It’s that double standard and I think I’m doing something for the double standard.”
However, Miley is also wrong about this. According to a PBS profile of Elvis Presley , the singer’s June 5, 1956 performance on The Milton Berle Show received a response similar to the one Cyrus faced after her racy MTV VMAs twerk-fest. Some scandalized viewers were appalled by his “Hound Dog” hip gyrations.
“Television critics across the country slam the performance for its ‘appalling lack of musicality,’ for its ‘vulgarity’ and ‘animalism.’ The Catholic Church takes up the criticism in its weekly organ in a piece headlined ‘Beware Elvis Presley.’ Concerns about juvenile delinquency and the changing moral values of the young find a new target in the popular singer.”
Miley Cyrus can still argue that critics are tougher on female singers these days, but Elvis Presley was a poor male example to use to prove her point. Giving a white man credit for inventing twerking was also a terrible mistake that’s definitely going to offend some people, just as much as Elvis’ pelvis offended those close-minded critics. However, in this instance, feeling offended is warranted.
Luckily for those who are tired of Miley Cyrus talking about twerking and trying to give erroneous history lessons about the dance move, the singer is about to retire the twerk . She recently told MTV’s Sway that she simply can’t compete with Nicki Minaj and that the move just doesn’t fit with her new musical direction.
“I’ve retired [from twerking], yeah. I’m making some music right now with The Flaming Lips. It’s different. It’s a little psychedelic.”
In other words, Miley Cyrus got tired of angering hip-hop listeners, so she found a new group of music fans to offend. Just wait until she moves on to epic doom metal or medieval folk rock.
[Image credit: Wikimedia , Lucas Jackson/Reuters via Metro ]