Miley Cyrus's Mom Tish Had the Idea for Her Infamous Pole Dance

"Yup, that was my mom’s idea."

In the history of pop culture, 2009 was a pretty big year. It was the year that Glee first hit our screens, Kanye West told Taylor Swift "Imma let you finish", and, of course, the year that Miley Cyrus shed her Disney kid image once and for all when she took to the stage at the Teen Choice Awards and performed a pole dance atop an ice cream truck while singing her single "Party in the U.S.A.."

Now, 15 years later, Miley has recalled how the infamous dance came to be. “This is going to be no surprise to you," said Miley while speaking to her sister, Brandi, during Spotify's Billions Club series. "Do you know whose idea that was?”

Brandi offered her guess: their mother, Tish Cyrus.

“Yup, that was my mom’s idea," said Miley. "So, she always lets me take the blame. When I got in trouble the next day, you know who was nowhere to be found? Tish Cyrus.”

Miley was 16 at the time of the performance. Although she was building a career as a pop star, she was still best-known to many as the star of Disney Channel's Hannah Montana. So, it's hardly surprising that her performance quickly stirred up plenty of discourse online, with Disney even issuing a statement. “Disney Channel won’t be commenting on that performance,” the network said, “although parents can rest assured that all content presented on the Disney Channel is age-appropriate for our audience—kids 6-14—and consistent with what our brand values are.” Earlier this year, Miley became the youngest person to be named a "Disney Legend" thanks to her iconic turn in Hannah Montana.

Although Miley's pole dance has gone down in pop culture infamy, she remembers the evening for other reasons. “The thing that I remember most about that performance was it was the first time I ever wore real diamond jewelry on stage," she said, adding, "So you guys remember a little old ice cream truck, I remember the diamonds.”

Earlier this year, Miley revealed that her mom was often involved in her career when she was younger. As she said in her June 2024 cover story with W Magazine, "My mom was my makeup, hair, seamstress, styling, tour manager—like, the actual manager." And, yes, it seems that even included controversial staging decisions!