Miley Cyrus has given fans a crash course in consent after she was forcibly groped and kissed by a fan in Spain recently.
Earlier this week, Miley Cyrus found herself at the centre of a worrying fan encounter while in Spain.
Having left her Barcelona hotel with husband Liam Hemsworth, the pair had been walking by legions of fans to a waiting car when one fan reached out and grabbed the musician.
Pulling Cyrus by her hair, the unnamed fan pulled her in before kissing her on the cheek. While Miley quickly pulled herself away and a security guard struck the fan, footage of the incident soon appeared online.
Llego a estar ahí, y al “fan” que se ha tirado a por miley no se le olvida el guantazo que se lleva pic.twitter.com/30PUR4zXR0
— Alvaro (@AlvaroSaucedo13) June 2, 2019
However, while anyone with a single iota of common sense would realise this shocking behaviour is solely the blame of the fan in question, Miley Cyrus soon took to Twitter to share footage of a news report – along with a screenshot – that showed she had been the target of victim blaming in the wake of the incident.
To set the matter straight, Cyrus shared an impassioned message explaining consent, pairing it with the phrase “Don’t fuck with my freedom” – a lyric from her recently-released song, ‘Mother’s Daughter’.
“She can be wearing what she wants,” Cyrus began. “She can be a virgin. She can be sleeping with 5 different people. She can be with her husband. She can be with her girlfriend. She can be naked.”
“She CAN’T be grabbed without her consent.”
She can be wearing what she wants. She can be a virgin. She can be sleeping with 5 different people.
She can be with her husband. She can be with her girlfriend. She can be naked.
She CAN’T be grabbed without her consent. #DontFuckWithMyFreedom pic.twitter.com/hBDzuflKF1
— Miley Cyrus (@MileyCyrus) June 4, 2019
Don’t fuck with my freedom. #stillnotaskingforit pic.twitter.com/b0Mc0fbYsp
— Miley Cyrus (@MileyCyrus) June 4, 2019
A screenshot of Facebook comments also accompanied this Tweet, with some users questioning “you wanted to be ‘sexy’, what do you expect?” and “what do they expect when they dress like whores”?
While such brazen behaviour and victim blaming is a far cry from the recent spate of sexual assaults at gigs, it does call to mind the comments of triple j presenter Bridget Hustwaite who urged everyone to call out those who participate in such behaviour.
“If they’re acting in a manner that you would to hate to see happen to your sister, girlfriend, mum, etc. pull them up on it,” Hustwaite explained. “It can be as simple as saying ‘Hey man, that’s not cool’.”
“If they reject you, I think it says a lot more about their character than yours and they’re probably not the kind of people you need in your life.”
Check out ‘Mother’s Daughter’ by Miley Cyrus:
