Miley Cyrus “Responds” To VMA Criticism

Doctors report a major uptick in heart palpitations since Miley Cyrus grinded her way out of a teddy bear and gyrated around on the tee-vee on Sunday night at the VMAs, though not without good reason. Many would argue her new image, and this performance in particular, is unapologetically racist and uses black women as props; others are disgusted by the crass, careless nature of her sexual display; others still are in grave danger of being bored to death (here's a bit more on what we think, for the record). And what does Miley have to say about it all? Pretty much the usual, a.k.a. her main form of communication these days, a.k.a. semi-nude Instagram photos.

Today, we'll be receiving Blessed Miley's Sacred Bottom in not one but two holy forms: The crouched-down shot from above, featuring a bikini made from a basketball jersey, and the ever-so-slight shadow of underbutt (background kitchen accessories, included).

Hit the next page for more, if that's your thing.

The endless battle between haters and lovers continues in the comments next to the photos, though nobody is really bringing up any of the many nuanced and more interesting points that make this worth talking about beyond the simple gut reactions of "ew!" or "awesome!" For our part, we'd really love to see her actually sit down and talk about some of these issues. It probably won't happen, because for whatever reason, she's determined not to talk about any of it. Too bad, because her words could actually go a long way to clear the score and help fans and critics alike better understand exactly what her performance means for pop culture, for better or for worse.

Miley also pointed out some positive reviews on Twitter from The Rolling Stone. The one thing you have to wonder about here, is that, unlike some stars who take to re-tweeting their many harsh critics with accompanying backlash, she really doesn't seem to care at all. Surely she knows what's going on, the controversy she has sparked, but as far as she's concerned, she's just going to keep on twerking and watch the cash roll in.