Miley Cyrus has experienced a very human moment during a recent appearance at Summerfest in the US city of Milwaukee, suffering a panic attack in the middle of her set.
The Disney star turned popstar turned rock covers queen stopped her performance between songs to address the crowd, confessing that coming out of lockdown had been a major shock to her system.
She revealed that she was feeling a panic attack coming on, suddenly finding herself on stage in front of thousands of people, but hoped that addressing it openly with the audience might help her move through it.
“Like everyone else, for the last year and a half I’ve been locked away and isolated and it is very stunning to be back in a place that used to feel like second nature,” Cyrus said in her five-minute long speech (transcribed via the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel).
“Being onstage used to feel like being at home, and it doesn’t anymore because of how much time I spent at home locked away. And this is very drastic.”
Cyrus went on to add that the pandemic has been “startling and terrifying” and that “coming out of it is also slightly terrifying. So I just wanted to be honest with how I’m feeling. Because I think by being honest about that, then it makes me less afraid.”
She continued: “The last year kind of removed this divide, this curtain, and we’re allowing people to see us in our most vulnerable, our most isolated, our most hurt, our most scared states. And I think that’s something really empowering … I think by being honest, that makes me less afraid. I’m getting used to being back onstage, but there’s nowhere else that I’d rather be.”
After taking a moment to address her anxiety with the audience, Cyrus managed to power through the rest of her 19-song set, which included a mix of her classic pop hits and her more recent rock-centric material.
You can watch some fan-shot footage of the whole thing below.
.@MileyCyrus confessed @Summerfest tonight that she felt like she was having a panic attack in the middle of the show. “I think by being honest, that makes me less afraid,” she said. Look for our coverage of her amazing show @journalsentinel https://t.co/VszwAqVemN pic.twitter.com/JX7I0VcDKT
— Piet Levy (@pietlevy) September 18, 2021
