Is Miley Cyrus Racist? It Certainly Seems That Way

Miley Cyrus, former star of Hannah Montana, is known by many as a total sweetheart. An article that was published today, however, paints her in a different, and kinda racist, light.

Cyrus gave an exclusive interview with Matt Diehl, contributor to Billboard. While the interview left many with more questions than answers, one thing was made clear: Miley loves yakkin' about music.

Miley begins by talking about her influences:

"I love the Lumineers, but I also love French Montana, Juicy J, Wiz Khalifa and Dolly Parton. If you could put Dolly, some Adele and Juicy J together, you'd have that weird balance."

Things got confusing when she started mentioning her own music. Here's where the confusing, and potentially racist, nonsense started:

"I've always wanted country-rock influences, but now I'm moving over to a more urban side," she says. "It's not a hip-hop album, though--it's a pop album. I'm not coming in trying to rap. It's more like, 'I don't see any girls out there doing what Miguel and Frank Ocean are doing.'"

Saying that she wanted to release an "urban album" probably wasn't enough to raise speculation. However, when it's coupled with these statements, the line seems to blur:

"A lot of people wanted to try to make me the white Nicki Minaj. That's not what I'm trying to do. I love 'hood' music, but my talent is as a singer. We were inspired by One­Republic, and the way Timbaland used to do those big ballads."

Her use of the word hood to describe her music leaves many readers, including this one, wondering.