She's been the subject of controversy over everything from her infamous VMAs performance to accusations of appropriating elements of black culture, and now Miley Cyrus is defending another aspect of her career that many find problematic: her use of little people on-stage as back-up dancers, RadarOnline reports.
Cyrus caught flack for allegedly exploiting her band of little people back in September when stand-up comedian and burlesque dancer, Selene Luna, slammed her for using her group "as props."
"Miley's performance struck a chord with me," Luna told RadarOnline at the time. "As much as I'm all for being anti-victim, it's offensive to me that little people are still the go-to butt of the joke. I don't understand why it's ok that she's like, 'Oooh look at my prop!' I could never get way with doing a show surrounded by a band of people with Down Syndrome. You couldn't do a show with Chinese people and be like, 'Look at my Chinaman!' Why is this ok? It's like little people are the last acceptable blackface in showbiz."
Cyrus, however, has always defended her career decisions, never one to fear bad press. In fact, the star has arguably used it to her advantage, as she's not only one of the most talked-about figures in entertainment and music, but her latest album "Bangerz," recently debuted at No. 1 around the world.
Most recently, Cyrus tweeted a photo of herself hanging out with three of her back-up dancers, all of whom happen to be little people, along with the caption, "#aslongasmybitchesloveme."
While the three women seemed content to hang out with the singer, one of her former dancers, dollis Jane, however, did mind. Hollis wrote a blog post in which she expressed regret over performing for Cyrus during her VMAs duet with Robin Thicke and played the part of a dancing bear.
"For the first time I felt truly ashamed of being a little person," Jane wrote. "Standing on that stage, in that costume was one of the most degrading things I felt like I could ever do."
However, one of Cyrus's back-up dancers, Jordanna James, recently defended the star to the UK magazine Heat World. "[Miley's] not using anybody. She supports all shapes and sizes," James said. "She wants to embrace diversity - everyone's different. That's what I love about her. She's giving us an opportunity."
Click here to read Hollis Jane's full blog post on the subject of being a back-up dancer for Miley Cyrus.
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Do you think Miley Cyrus's use of little people as back-up dancers is exploitative, or do you agree with Jordanna James?
