Miley Cyrus Calls Sinead O'Connor "Incredible," Is "Not Too Worried" About Backlash: Today Show Interview

Miley CyrusToday Show Interview

This is what passes for "Just Being Miley" in late 2013. Miley Cyrus was game to sit in Matt Lauer's hot seat on the Today Show -- her first live interview since the MTV VMAs, her naked "Wrecking Ball" video and everything else that's transpired in the lead-up to her Bangerz album, which goes on sale Tuesday, Oct. 8.

Unsurprisingly, the suddenly ubiquitous star, 20, isn't really shocked by the amount of attention she's getting for her antics -- it's all part of her plan! "Not really," she mused. "It's kind of what I want. I'm an artist, so I'm hoping that I get a little attention or my record sales might be a little sketch."
Now undeniably a part of MTV Video Music Awards all-time history, Cyrus' twerk-a-thon with Robin Thicke "went exactly as I planned," she told Lauer. "It's a month later and we're still talking about it!"
As Lauer wondered whether the former Disney star found evolving in the public eye "hard," Cyrus was similarly chill. "Nah, because this is just, like, who I am. I think it's only hard if you're trying to be something you're not. Being who you are is really easy if you're really true to that."

Cyrus then touched upon her latest controversy: Sinead O'Connor's verging-on-hysterical online feud with her.

"I think she's an incredible artist, I think she's an awesome songwriter, and I was really inspired by her for my 'Wrecking Ball' video, which was what started the whole thing," Cyrus reasoned of the Irish songstress, 46. "I don't know how someone can start a fight with somebody who said, 'Hey, I really respect you. And I really love what you what you did.' 'You know what? You suck! I don't like you!' That was kind of crazy. But as I said, I'm a big fan of hers, so it doesn't really matter. It's all good."

In case there's any doubt, Cyrus is really chill, and really not worried about any potential backlash, she assured Lauer. "I don't really worry about anything because I know who I am and I know that I'm an artist, and I know that I put all this time and this effort into my record, and my record is proof of really who I am," she argued. "For me, the most important thing is being a really good person, and that doesn't depend on what you do onstage. That depends on how you treat people when you're offstage, and I know how I treat people, so I'm not really too worried about it." by nevel