Fans Think Miley Shaded Liam At The VMAs With This Subtle Lyric Change
She's grown now. Miley Cyrus took to the MTV Video Music Awards stage on Aug. 26 to perform her new song, "Slide Away." It was an emotional moment, given that the song is about her impending divorce from Liam Hemsworth, with whom she's been with on-and-off for a decade. It's been a dramatic month for the two. Cyrus' trip to Italy with Kaitlynn Carter, who also recently separated from Brody Jenner, made headlines. All the while, though, Cyrus and Hemsworth have said nothing but respectful things to each other in their public comments about the split. But Miley Cyrus' VMAs "Slide Away" performance might have actually thrown the slightest bit of shade Hemsworth's way.
Cyrus dropped "Slide Away" as a surprise single on Aug. 16, just a few days before she would post a Twitter thread breaking down the reasons for her and Hemsworth's split. They just got married in December 2018, so the split came as a shock to many. The only comment Hemsworth has made about the split was on his Instagram on Aug. 12.
"Hi all, Just a quick note to say that Miley and I have recently separated and I wish her nothing but health and happiness going forward," his caption reads. "This is a private matter and I have not made, nor will I be making, any comments to any journalists or media outlets. Any reported quotes attributed to me are false. Peace and Love."
Cyrus took a girls' trip with Kaitlynn Carter (who recently separated from Brody Jenner, with whom she was in a relationship for six years before getting married in 2018) and her older sister, Brandi Cyrus. Cyrus and Carter were snapped by paparazzi seemingly kissing on a boat during this trip, stirring up some drama with Jenner on Instagram. Carter accompanied Cyrus to the VMAs, where she was seen walking backstage with her as Cyrus prepared to perform "Slide Away."
Here's the video of her performance.
It was a beautiful performance on Cyrus' part, but there was one blink-and-you'll-miss-it change to the lyrics that Cyrus threw in during the performance.
In the original "Slide Away" lyrics, Cyrus sings,
Move on, we're not seventeen / I'm not who I used to be / You say that everything changed / You're right, we're grown now
Pay attention to that last line where Cyrus says "we're grown now."
During her VMAs performance, Cyrus tweaked the lyrics to say, "You're right, I'm grown now." Oof.
That tweak could mean a couple of things. It could mean Cyrus was trying to imply that Hemsworth wasn't evolving and growing at the same pace she was and that's why they split. It could mean Cyrus feels Hemsworth's private responses to their now public split is immature, or it could very well be more of a solitary thing that wasn't necessarily a dig at Hemsworth.
In her Twitter thread about their breakup, Cyrus revealed that she decided to end her marriage with Hemsworth because she has grown up and grown out of their relationship, which has been part of her life since she was 17.
“But the truth is, once Liam & I reconciled, I meant it, & I was committed. There are NO secrets to uncover here. I’ve learned from every experience in my life," she said. "I’m not perfect, I don’t want to be, it’s boring. I’ve grown up in front of you, but the bottom line is, I HAVE GROWN UP. I can admit to a lot of things but I refuse to admit that my marriage ended because of cheating. Liam and I have been together for a decade. I’ve said it before & it remains true, I love Liam and always will.”
She continued, "BUT at this point I had to make a healthy decision for myself to leave a previous life behind. I am the healthiest and happiest I have been in a long time. You can say I am a twerking, pot smoking, foul mouthed hillbilly but I am not a liar. I am proud to say, I am simply in a different place from where i was when I was a younger."
Maybe this is one of those situations where Hemsworth didn't necessarily do anything wrong. Maybe It wasn't that their relationship was bad, but that it just ran its course and Cyrus was ready to start a new chapter. There still appears to be a lot of love between the two. That love just won't include a marriage anymore.
