Miley Cyrus has opened up about an incident involving a playful gift for her then-boyfriend that ultimately cost her a role in the movie Hotel Transylvania.
The former Disney Channel star, known for her breakout role as Hannah Montana, has experienced her share of controversies over the years.
At 32 years old and with the release of her new album, Something Beautiful, Cyrus discussed a particular gift she gave to her ex, Liam Hemsworth, which led to her losing a job.
In a conversation with Monica Lewinsky on the June 10 episode of the podcast Reclaiming With Monica Lewinsky, the “Flowers” singer recounted several stories from her teenage years, including her experience with Hotel Transylvania.
“I, as a joke, got my boyfriend a penis cake for his birthday and I got fired,” she remembered.
“I was the lead actress in Hotel Transylvania and they fired me and replaced me because I made an inappropriate adult joke. But I was 18.”
Sony Pictures released the animated family film in 2012, featuring another Disney Channel alum, Selena Gomez, in the main role of Mavis Dracula.
A picture surfaced of Cyrus holding and licking the cake, which resembled an appendage, for Hemsworth’s birthday in January 2012.
TMZ shared photos of Cyrus with her tongue out beside what they termed a ‘massive phallic confection’.
Reflecting on the controversy that the cake caused, Cyrus told Lewinsky—who herself has been involved in a significant scandal—that she didn’t feel her actions were inappropriate for her age.
“What felt ridiculous to me about getting fired [over] a penis cake was that they sell penis cakes for all bachelorettes … in Nashville, Tennessee, you can get penis cakes,” she stated.
“It’s not that big of a deal. I thought this [was] a very simple, not vulgar joke … this is silly. You can do this for all bachelorette parties; they make necklaces and cups and straws and all kinds of stuff. It felt ridiculous.”
“To be fired for regular things that girls my age, they go to bachelorette parties and they do this,” Cyrus continued.
“They go to Magic Mike shows. But, at that time, I wasn’t someone that was appropriate for kids, even though that was in my personal life.”
Cyrus explained that the photo of her with the penis cake was private, taken after her backpack containing her camera was stolen at a party.
“[It was] nothing I posted,” she clarified. “I was at a private event at a private party and I got robbed. It’s not cool.”