"I never faked anything. I never played the Disney game of smiling and being a princess and then suddenly having a hard time, saying, 'That isn't who I really am.'"
About this Quote
The phrase “Disney game” does real work. It frames corporate pop as a set of rules: smile, stay palatable, perform princesshood as a brand promise. That “game” isn’t just about personal behavior; it’s an entire economy of expectations built around young women, where being “good” is a commodity and being “bad” becomes an inevitable sequel. Cyrus is calling out the script that demands a clean split between then and now, innocence and experience, Hannah Montana and Miley.
Her blunt mimicry of the supposed apology - “That isn’t who I really am” - exposes the cynicism underneath those public reinventions. She’s implying that audiences, labels, and media outlets collude in rewarding the same storyline every time: sanitize youth, monetize rebellion, then market the self as finally “real.” The subtext is control. Cyrus insists her evolution isn’t a brand pivot or a penitential confession; it’s continuity. Whether you buy that is almost beside the point. She’s arguing that the real performance was never her behavior, but the public’s demand that she narrate it in a way that makes everyone else feel comfortable.
Quote Details
| Topic | Honesty & Integrity |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Cyrus, Miley. (2026, January 15). I never faked anything. I never played the Disney game of smiling and being a princess and then suddenly having a hard time, saying, 'That isn't who I really am.'. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-never-faked-anything-i-never-played-the-disney-172533/
Chicago Style
Cyrus, Miley. "I never faked anything. I never played the Disney game of smiling and being a princess and then suddenly having a hard time, saying, 'That isn't who I really am.'." FixQuotes. January 15, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-never-faked-anything-i-never-played-the-disney-172533/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"I never faked anything. I never played the Disney game of smiling and being a princess and then suddenly having a hard time, saying, 'That isn't who I really am.'." FixQuotes, 15 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-never-faked-anything-i-never-played-the-disney-172533/. Accessed 5 Feb. 2026.







