Watch Lainey Wilson And Chappell Roan Honor Miley Cyrus, The New Youngest-Ever “Disney Legend”
![](https://static.stereogum.com/uploads/2024/08/Miley-Cyrus-1723476793.jpg)
The Walt Disney Company
It’s been 18 years since a very young Miley Cyrus first came into the public eye, playing the title character on the Disney Channel show Hannah Montana. Cyrus has had a checkered journey since then, and she’s pretty permanently ensconced within pop’s A-list. This past weekend, Disney honored Cyrus by making her a Disney Legend, entering her into a kind of hall of fame for the company, at its D23 Expo. As Variety reports, the 31-year-old Cyrus is now the youngest Disney Legend of all time.
If there’s going to be such a thing as a Disney Legend, it makes sense to extend that distinction to Miley Cyrus. Hannah Montana was a full-on cultural phenomenon, and she also played a lead role in the 2008 animated film Bolt. At the D23 Expo yesterday, the country star Lainey Wilson welcomed Miley Cyrus to the stage, talking about being inspired by Hannah Montana and singing the show’s theme song “The Best Of Both Worlds.”
Chappell Roan also recorded a video in which she said, “There’s a lot of crossover between Miley and my project, and it’s just like, I’m such a fan too.”
During her acceptance speech, Miley Cyrus teared up and said, “I stand here still proud to have been Hannah Montana.” She added, “I definitely wasn’t created in a Disney lab, and if I was, there was a bug that made me malfunction somewhere between 2013 and 2016.” Pretty funny! Watch some videos below.
Lainey Wilson performs "The Best of Both Worlds" at #D23. pic.twitter.com/j2xdEPYEQM
— Variety (@Variety) August 12, 2024
Full video of Chappell Roan introducing Miley Cyrus as the youngest recipient of the Disney Legend Award:
“There’s a lot of crossover between Miley and my project, and it’s just like, I’m such a fan too.” pic.twitter.com/zHcZ1TpMbo
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) August 12, 2024
Miley Cyrus wipes away tears during her Disney Legends acceptance speech at #D23. pic.twitter.com/iMU2UCcsgu
— Variety (@Variety) August 12, 2024
Miley Cyrus: "I stand here still proud to have been Hannah Montana…This award is dedicated to Hannah and all of her amazing, loyal fans." https://t.co/LwufAbcq81 pic.twitter.com/8p7MNcivXe
— Variety (@Variety) August 12, 2024
This year’s class of Disney Legends also includes Harrison Ford, James Cameron, James L. Brooks, Angela Bassett, Jamie Lee Curtis, Frank Oz, John Williams, Kelly Ripa, Spider-Man co-creator Steve Ditko, costume designer Colleen Atwood, animator Mark Henn, “Imagineer” Joe Rohde, and park executive Martha Blanding. Cyrus’ fellow Disney-kid pop star Christina Aguilera was given the honor in 2019.