Miley Cyrus Lost Big Career Opportunity Over Penis Cake Scandal

Miley Cyrus is reflecting on the penis cake scandal that ultimately got her fired from Hotel Transylvania.

The “Something Beautiful” singer, 32, claimed that she was dropped as the leading role in the animated film franchise and replaced by Selena Gomez after posing with a penis-shaped cake during then-boyfriend Liam Hemsworth’s birthday party.

“I, as a joke, got my boyfriend a penis cake for his birthday and I got fired,” Cyrus told Monica Lewinsky on Tuesday’s episode of Lewinsky’s Reclaiming podcast. “I was the lead actress in Hotel Transylvania, and they fired me and replaced me because I had made an inappropriate, adult joke.”

Cyrus’ scandal came after the Hannah Montana alum had turned 18 and was transitioning her career from Disney Channel star to a new, more mature era. “I was 18—so yes, I was fine to work in a kids movie,” she said, “but I’m not a kid.”

The penis cake scandal shocked Cyrus due not only to the fact that it was a private photo that was leaked from her stolen camera, but also due to the relative normalcy of the joke.

“What felt ridiculous to me about getting fired from a penis cake, was that they sell penis cakes like for all bachelorettes,” the “Easy Lover” singer said. “Like in Nashville, Tennessee, you can get penis cakes, it’s not that big of a deal. I thought, you know, this is like a very simple, not vulgar joke, this is silly. And you can do this for all bachelorette parties, they make necklaces and cups and straws and all kinds of stuff.”

More than a decade later, however, Cyrus says she can see how her Disney Channel career kept her from being able to have that kind of early adult experience. “To be fired, you know, for regular things that girls my age—they go to bachelorette parties, and they go to Magic Mike shows,” she said. “But if I was at that time, you know, I wasn’t someone that was appropriate for kids, even though that was in my personal life.”

Debating whether or not a similar scandal could happen today, Cyrus reasoned, “I don’t know if we put our Disney kids on the pedestal the way that we used to, our teen stars. But I think that still movies can have consequences for their lead actor or actress doing things that don’t align with the audience that the movie is made for.”