It was Miley Cyrus’s party and she should’ve been able to do what she wants. The “We Can’t Stop” singer recently reflected on how her posing with a penis-shaped cake during then-boyfriend Liam Hemsworth’s birthday allegedly lost her the leading role in the Hotel Transylvania film series.
“I, as a joke, got my boyfriend a penis cake for his birthday and I got fired,” Miley told Monica Lewinsky while a guest on the June 10 episode of Monica’s Reclaiming podcast. “I was the lead actress in Hotel Transylvania, and they fired me and replaced me because I had made an inappropriate, adult joke.”
Miley reflected on how this period of her life, as she transitioned from her life on Hannah Montana and as a Disney star to her new era of music and stardom, was riddled with contradictions.
“I was 18-so yes, I was fine to work in a kids movie,” she said, “but I’m not a kid.”
She also called out, what she felt, to be the normalcy of the joke. “What felt ridiculous to me about getting fired from a penis cake, was that they sell penis cakes like for all bachelorettes,” the 32-year-old said. “Like in Nashville, Tennessee, you can get penis cakes, it’s not that big of a deal. I thought you know this is like a very simple, not vulgar joke, this is silly. And you can do this for all bachelorette parties, they make necklaces and cups and straws and all kinds of stuff.”
But, in looking back, Miley feels as though she weren’t allowed to partake in that level of normal, early adult activities because of her Disney Channel past.
“To be fired you know for regular things that girls my age-they go to bachelorette parties, and they go to Magic Mike shows,” she said. “But if I was at that time, you know, I wasn’t someone that was appropriate for kids, even though that was in my personal life.”
As she noted, she didn’t even share the infamous photo herself-it was leaked after her backpack and camera were stolen during a party. E! News has reached out to Sony Pictures for comment but has not yet heard back. Ultimately, Selena Gomez was cast and starred in the Hotel Transylvania franchise.
During her interview, Miley also reflected on whether a similar situation could happen today.
“I don’t know if we put our Disney kids on the pedestal the way that we used to, our teen stars,” she said.
“But I think that still movies can have consequences for their lead actor or actress doing things that don’t align with the audience that the movie is made for.