"Traumatized" Miley Cyrus Recalls Scary Moment Her Plane Was Struck By Lightning

While traveling to Paraguay in March, Miley Cyrus' plane was caught in the middle of an unexpected storm and hit by lightning. In a new interview, the singer reflected on the scary incident.

By Elyse Dupre May 17, 2022 12:34 PMTags
Watch: Miley Cyrus Recalls Moment Plane Was Struck by Lightning

Miley Cyrus will never forget that plane ride. 

During the May 16 episode of Late Night With Seth Meyers, the singer recalled how a storm occurred while she was in route from Colombia to Paraguay for the 2022 Asuncionico music festival on March 23 and how her aircraft was struck by lightning. 

"It was really scary," Cyrus said. "I was in my mom's lap because I was pretty sure it didn't matter about the seatbelts at this point."

Looking back at that day, the "Malibu" artist remembered feeling apprehensive. "It was really very strange," she said, "because it was unexpected weather, and a few things that day—when I woke up that morning I said, ‘Something just kind of felt off and not quite right.'" 

Cyrus' plane made an emergency landing, and she and her travel party—which also included her crew, band, friends and family members—were all safe. The musical festival also ended up being canceled due to the weather.

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"There was just a lot going on," Cyrus recalled. "And everyone's like—my guys in my band, who are just rock 'n' rollers, are like, 'We got to get to the fans! We got to still play the gig!' I'm like, 'OK, no. We're in the middle of, like, the forest in a broken-down airplane. There's floods where we're supposed to be going. The stage is sinking.'"

Rob Latour/Shutterstock

Cyrus was playing at Lollapalooza Brazil just a few days later and was able to enter the country. "They were awesome," she said. "They let us in a couple days early, and we were able to take a few days to recuperate 'cause all of us were a little traumatized."

Hours after the incident, Cyrus posted footage of the storm and damage to the plane on Instagram, prompting fans and fellow stars to express how thankful they were that she and her fellow travelers were all right. 

"THANK GOD YOU ALL ARE SAFE," designer Jeremy Scott wrote. Added singer Ilsey Juber, "Omg so glad you guys are ok!"

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