Miley Cyrus' Bear Dancer Felt "Ashamed of Being a Little Person"
We all know now that Miley Cyrus delights in shocking people. All publicity is good publicity, etc, etc.
We also know that her VMA performance left everyone A.) entertained and titillated or B.) disgusted and angry. But for Miley's backup dancer, Hollis Jane, it was C.) shaking and crying.
Jane was one of the background bears in the "We Can't Stop"/"Blurred Lines" performance and she recently took to her personal blog to vocalize her feelings on being asked to perform simply because she's a little person.
"I was a bear in Miley Cyrus’ VMA performance and it was my first time doing anything like that…anything where I was being used because of my height, not because of my talent," Jane said.
"And I will be the first one to tell you that standing on that stage, in that costume was one of the most degrading things I felt like I could ever do."
Jane, an aspiring actress, said she recently declined an offer to be a part of Cyrus' Bangerz tour, despite the fact that "the money was great." It was the VMA performance that lead her to her final decision.
"I had never been in a performance where I was purely meant to be gawked or laughed at. I will never forget that performance because it is what forced me to draw my personal line in the sand," she said.
"After our first dress rehearsal in the costumes with the crew, publicists, performers etc watching us, I walked out of the Barclay Center shaking and crying."
The "Wrecking Ball" singer has clearly decided to make little people performers a key component of her performances for songs from the newly released Bangerz.
Little people have been featured in a number of Cryus performances. Of particular note: she slapped a twerking little person's butt at the iHeartRadio fest and even compiled an entire backing band of little people for an appearance on German game show, Schlagg Den Raab.
As Hollis Jane puts it: "We can all agree that right now all Miley Cyrus wants to do is make society’s jaw drop. So what’s more 'weird' or 'freaky' than having little people parading around in your show?
"As someone who is trying to make it as a serious actress in this industry, not just trying to 'be famous' or make money, there is nothing more frustrating than this stigma."
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