Miley Cyrus' VMA Performance: See Taylor Swift, Rihanna, One Direction and More Stars' Reactions

"We Can't Stop" singer stripped down to nude-colored, latex lingerie onstage and received mixed audience reviews

By Rebecca Macatee Aug 26, 2013 5:15 PMTags
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In case y'all didn't know it, Miley Cyrus is ALL GROWN UP.

The 20-year-old singer wanted to make that very clear during her Sunday, Aug. 25, performance at the 2013 MTV VMAs at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. But while Ms. Cyrus' raunchy, sexed-up routine of twerking and pelvic thrusting was certainly unforgettable, it didn't appear to leave a positive impression on all of her fellow celebs. Case in point? Rihanna.

The "Diamonds" singer looked less than enthused as she watched Miley strip off her teddy bear onesie and grind up on Robin Thicke. She appeared to be taken aback, to say the least, and possibly even concerned about her fellow pop star.

MTV

The One Direction boys, sitting directly behind Rihanna, were stunned by the former Disney star dancing so provocatively in her flesh-colored latex lingerie as well. Liam Payne, struggling to contain a smirk, looked like he'd been caught in the midst of some mildly scandalous act. Zayn Malik, who got engaged to Perrie Edwards Aug. 18, nodded good-naturedly, but didn't seem too focused on the nearly-nude act in front of him. Louis Tomlinson had a stoic expression of, "Huh. This is really happening," while Niall Horan couldn't help but  boyishly grin at the spectacle before him. And Harry Styles—well, that boy wasn't shocked at all! Looking blasé, he kept chewing his gum and looked on at Miley's intense performance like it was NBD.

MTV

Drake seemed a bit bashful, gentlemanly looking away from the main stage as Miley continued to assert her womanhood for all to see. Later in the night, the rapper also performed—putting on a much, much tamer show than his twerking predecessor.

MTV

Taylor Swift and Selena Gomez were supportive of the "We Can't Stop" singer, dancing and singing aloud from their front row seats. At one point, the BFFs did appear to be in utter disbelief of Miley's scene-stealing antics, but they were in no way mean girls.

MTV

A  photo of Will Smith, Jaden Smith and Willow Smith—mouths open, staring upwards at the screen before then in utter shock—was erroneously reported to have been snapped during Miley's performance. MTV's audience cam, however, shows that the Smith fam was actually jaw-droppingly wowed by Lady Gaga's performance. The audience cam, sadly, didn't cut to Will, Willow and Jayden during Miley's set.

MTV

As for Twitter?  Miley's twerktastic performance didn't really get glowing reviews there. Rob Lowe retweeted a link to the performance, adding, " I cannot think of anything less interesting," while Bethenny Frankel mused, "@MileyCyrus 20 yrs old & getting bad direction. Granted she has to agree, but someone choreographed it & designed that bear."

Remember only God can judge ya, and forget the haters 'cause somebody loves ya! Don't worry, Miley, you're still our Queen of Twerk.