Miley Cyrus carried "guilt and shame" over some of her past controversies "for years".
In an interview for the June 2023 issue of British Vogue published on Thursday, the Flowers singer referred to some of her more divisive performances, such as when she twerked up against Robin Thicke onstage at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards.
Reflecting on the backlash, Miley questioned whether she deserved to be so "harshly judged".
"I carried some guilt and shame around myself for years because of how much controversy and upset I really caused," she said. "Now that I'm an adult, I realise how harshly I was judged. I was harshly judged as a child by adults and now, as an adult, I realise that I would never harshly judge a child."
In addition, Miley insisted she doesn't consider herself to be an "attention-seeking person" but was simply trying to break away from her persona as a teen idol and the character she played on Disney Channel series, Hannah Montana.
"I was creating attention for myself because I was dividing myself from a character I had played. Anyone, when you're 20 or 21, you have more to prove. 'I'm not my parents.' 'I am who I am,'" the 30-year-old added.
