Culture

It’s Been 11 Years Since Miley Cyrus Ripped A Bong And Changed The Course Of History

Miley Cyrus wants the day she was caught ripping a bong to be turned into a national holiday.

by Michelle Rennex  30 November 2021
Miley Cyrus Bong Anniversary Holiday

Want more Junkee in your life? Sign up to our newsletter, and follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook so you always know where to find us.

When you look at Miley Cyrus today, it’s easy to forget that she almost derailed her entire career with a cheeky bong hit.

Just five days after turning 18 in 2010, one of Miley’s “friends” leaked a video of the Disney Channel star taking a hit of salvia — a legal, hallucinogenic drug —  in a dingy room and “having a little bit of a bad trip”.

When TMZ released the footage titled ‘Miley Cyrus Bong Video: Partying With A Bong’ the world almost exploded. And despite not even smoking weed, and salvia literally being legal for adults in California, Miley was heavily criticised for the “scandal” because people were worried that “young kids would emulate her behaviour”.

Even Billy Ray Cyrus weighed in on the video in 2010 to share how disappointed he was in Miley for her actions saying the he was “so sad” and that “there is so much beyond my control right now”.

Related
The Definitive List of Miley Cyrus' Best Covers, From 'Zombie' To 'Don't Dream It's Over'

The drama around the bong video got so severe that Miley lost a huge Walmart deal and was forced to apologise for *checks notes* smoking a legal drug *checks notes again* as an adult.

“I’m not perfect. I made a mistake… I’m disappointed in myself for disappointing my fans,” Miley told Marie Claire about the incident, even though it’s very common for 18-year-olds across the globe to smoke salvia and even weed.

“But they’re not Miley Cyrus. They’re not role models,” she said at the time. “So for me it was a bad decision, because of my fans and because of what I stand for.”

But 11 years later that’s all changed. Instead of being sorry and remorseful, Miley Cyrus wants the day she was caught ripping a fat bong to be named a national holiday.

And Miley’s right: it should be named a national holiday. Miley and the bong was a cultural reset. It turned Miley into an instant icon and spurred on her post-Disney bad girl ‘Can’t Be Tamed’ era — a shift that all Disney and Nickelodeon stars go through now. I mean, just look at how much JoJo Siwa is thriving.

Without the bong video, we would’ve never had Miley’s pivot to hump-happy molly-popper during Bangerz where she cut off all her hair, swung on a wrecking ball in her underwear, and was truly reborn as an artist far removed from Disney.

Really, we simply must thank the bong for giving us the country and rock Miley Cyrus we have today — an animal-loving pothead, who sings like an angel, calls out dickheads when they try to come for drag queens, and petitions for the regular experiences she was shamed for having as a child to be named a national holiday.