Miley Cyrus on ‘The Voice,’ Donald Trump, and Coming Out

Miley Cyrus on ‘The Voice,’ Donald Trump, and Coming Out

On the latest season of NBC’s “The Voice,” Miley Cyrus has reinvented herself from a twerking pop star to a mama-hen mentor. “I cry all the time,” Cyrus says about having to axe members of her team during the show’s elimination rounds. Behind the scenes, she dispenses copies of the self-help book “The Untethered Soul” to her contestants, trying to calm them down before live performances. On camera, she showcases an eclectic style — like an outfit covered in paper flowers — meant to counteract any last-minute jitters.

“I think it makes the contestants feel safer,” says Cyrus of her colorful wardrobe. “When I turn around, people laugh and feel lighthearted. I think they get to see that side of me.”

For many years, Cyrus had a different public persona. “People saw me as being wild, and literally all I do is I’m obsessed with yoga, I love hiking, and I’m reading constantly. My life is so positive. From the outside, people think I’m partying with rappers. That was back in my prime.”

It’s hard to keep a straight face when Cyrus uses that line — she’s only 23. Then again, she’s been on television since grade school. At 11, Cyrus was cast as the squeaky-clean face of Disney Channel’s “Hannah Montana,” which made her the Hayley Mills of her generation. The role brought intense tabloid scrutiny, particularly as she tried to grow up. “I had a clothing line at Walmart and got kicked out, because they said you had to choose weed or Walmart,” Cyrus says. “And you see what I did — I chose weed.”

In 2013, the Miley media circus reached a tipping point at the VMAs, where she gyrated alongside a row of teddy bears. She insists that the moment was misunderstood. “That was a joke,” she says. Cyrus has taken a U-turn since then. Her new career path revolves around her foundation: Happy Hippie, dedicated to supporting at-risk LGBTQ and homeless youth. “I am only doing ‘The Voice’ because that helps Happy Hippie,” Cyrus says about engaging the show’s audience to promote her cause.

Cyrus has headlined such films as “The Last Song” and “Bolt,” but she’s ambivalent about making movies now. “I know that acting is boring,” she says. “People get paid way too much for what they are doing.” She almost turned down the Woody Allen TV series “Crisis in Six Scenes” but was eventually won over by the role — playing a 1960s activist.

Over a vegan lunch in Los Angeles, Cyrus talked about what drives her, recalled how she struggled with her pansexual identity as a teenager (she’s currently dating Liam Hemsworth), and shared her thoughts on the election.

You just filled in as host of Ellen DeGeneres’ talk show.

I had to introduce Sarah Jessica Parker, and she asked me if I had any friends that are voting for Donald Trump. I was like, “Do you think I have friends that would vote for Donald Trump. Come on! Who do you think I’m hanging out with?”

The country is very polarized.

This is not a dig. But I do think there’s something that goes with the Kardashians and Trump. The Kardashians are better than Trump, because they are not trying to run the country. They are just trying to be famous, and that’s fine. We are obsessed with celebrity. When Trump started this, I was laughing. I thought it’s not going to go anywhere; there’s no way he’ll be the candidate.

Were you always a Hillary Clinton supporter?

I was a really big Bernie supporter.

What do you say to Bernie supporters who still won’t vote for Hillary?

That’s fucking crazy and you’re out of your mind. It’s literally pissing me off more than anything. If you could ever consider Donald Trump, you never understood Bernie in the first place.

Where did your sense of activism come from?

I think I just felt so stupid. I felt like what I was doing didn’t have value, because being a pop star was really silly when people are homeless and hungry. In 2013, when I did the VMAs, it became the biggest story in the world. I never expected that to happen. I just did my own thing. I went out there dressed as a teddy bear, danced with teddy bears, never thought about the world thinking that was going to be a bad thing.

Did the experience make you feel bad about yourself?

It was making me feel like I was living a dumb life — like I should just pick another job. I didn’t understand my power at that point. People listen because of who I am, so instead of being embarrassed, I should say: “Fuck yeah, I got the microphone.”