Miley Cyrus went emotional as “Best of both” was performed to Honour her As She Makes History At Disney Legends Ceremony

Former Disney star Miley Cyrus was given the company’s highest honour over the weekend, when she joined the likes of Julie Andrews, Mark Hamill, Whoopi Goldberg and Howard Ashman in being named a “Disney Legend”.

The former Hannah Montana performer became the youngest person in history to reach the accolade, putting in an appearance at the D23 fan event where she delivered an emotional speech to mark the occasion.

Speaking to the fans in attendance, the Grammy winner said: “I’m the one that tells you what you’re not supposed to know. What I want to say is that legends get scared too.

“I’m scared right now. But the difference is, we do it anyway, and all of you can do that every single day. It’s legendary to be afraid and do it anyway. There is no such thing as failure when you try. That’s the only way you lose. The way you win is to try.”

Elsewhere in the speech, Miley spoke about her own complicated history with Hannah Montana, the character she began playing as a child star.

She shared that when she first began shooting the show, Disney had to give away free tickets to “Hannah’s” shows because nobody knew who she was in those early days.

“The first song I opened with was titled This Is The Life,” she recalled, becoming emotional. “Which, of course, no one knew. Because, in reality, I was a little girl in a blonde wig at the mall with a big dream. But in my heart I was Hannah Montana.

“I stand here still proud to have been Hannah Montana, because she made Miley in so many ways. This award is dedicated to Hannah and all of her amazing loyal fans and to everyone who has made my dream a reality. To quote the legend herself, this is the life.”

Elsewhere in her speech, Miley also took an opportunity to apologise directly to Mickey Mouse for her chaotic Bangerz era.

“I definitely wasn’t created in a Disney lab, and if I was, there was a bug in the system that caused me to malfunction somewhere between the years of 2013 and ’16,” she joked. “Sorry Mickey!”

Miley was also seen crying and singing in her seat during Lainey Wilson’s cover of The Best Of Both Worlds, in tribute to Hannah Montana.

Since bidding farewell to her Hannah Montana persona, Miley has been candid about the highs and lows of playing the iconic Disney Channel character.

Back in 2020, she admitted that being associated with such a recognisable role came with its own pitfalls during her time as a child star, but shared an emotional response to the show’s 15th anniversary the following year.

Last year, she also candidly reflected on her hectic schedule from those early years of her career while promoting her single Used To Be Young.

Other big names to be made “Disney Legends” at this year’s D23 expo include Star Wars icon Harrison Ford, Frank Oz (who originated the characters of Yoda, Miss Piggy and Fozzie Bear) and Avatar director James Cameron.

Black Panther star Angela Bassett, Oscar winner Jamie Lee Curtis and The Simpsons co-creator James L Brooks were also recognised this year.