Singer Miley Cyrus performs during the 2013 Z100 Jingle Ball in New York December 13, 2013. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

Miley Cyrus talked to the New York Times about her controversial year in 2013 which was filled with crazy antics such as twerking, sticking out her tongue, skimpy outfits, bleached eyebrows and her outrageous music videos for her singles "Wrecking Ball" and "Adore You" from the album "Bangerz."

CREDIT: YouTube/MileyCyrusVEVO

A lot of people were shocked by Miley's transformation from cookie cutter and clean-cut Disney girl who starred in the hit show 'Hannah Montana," to the current sexier and edgier version. Obviously, Miley wanted to make a statement and to finally step out of the "Hannah Montana" and Disney shadows as well as her own father's country star image. What better way to do it than to dress and act provocatively, right?

Miley spoke with the New York Times while she was staying at the Four Seasons Hotel in New York. She was candid and goofy, but also businesslike. She talked about drugs, her musical career, her fans, critics and her MTV documentary "Miley: The Movement."

"It's actually really funny how many people could watch my performance, and they think it was, like, sexist and degrading to women, and somehow people found that it was racist, which I couldn't even wrap my mind around. Because I'm like: "How do I win? If I have white dancers, then I'm racist. If I have black girl dancers, then I'm racist," lamented Miley in the New York Times interview.

"I know I'm not putting down women."

"I'm telling women be whoever you want to be," she added.

In the grand tradition of Disney girls gone bad, Miley is another example of a rebellious young girl who was thrust in the spotlight at a young age, became successful and experienced being pulled in different directions, until she finally breaks and decides to go against the image that was planned for her by her manager or handlers. It happened to Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Lindsay Lohan and Amanda Bynes who were all Disney stars!

Miley's antics seem like a requisite rite of passage for young and misguided pop stars. Let's hope that her strategic career moves and her venture into the "dark" side will be worth it and she will achieve the great success, recognition, respect and career longevity that any artist longs for, including herself.

Click HERE to check out Miley's full interview with the New York Times.

CREDIT: YouTube/Random Videos

  • READ MORE:

Miley Cyrus Bleached Her Eyebrows: Posted Pics with Miranda Kerr and Lily Allen [PHOTOS] [VIDEO] (Click HERE)

Miley Cyrus Scores Both #1 Single & Album in the UK for 'Wrecking Ball' and 'Bangerz' (Click HERE)