5 things we learned from the new Miley Cyrus interview

By Lisa Respers France, CNN

updated 12:00 PM EST, Fri December 27, 2013

Miley Cyrus became a household name for families when her Disney Channel television show, "Hannah Montana," premiered in 2006. From there, Cyrus quickly rose to pop star fame and has been changing her appearance ever since. As she celebrates her birthday on November 23, we look back at her evolution from child star to adult provocateur:

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Evolution of Miley Cyrus

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Miley Cyrus recently sat down for a chat with the New York Times
She said she thinks other stars don't want to be associated with her
She would like to collaborate with the next provocateur

(CNN) -- Miley Cyrus has gotten plenty of attention in 2013, but that doesn't mean she's run out of things to say.

In a recent interview with the New York Times, the year's resident bad girl discussed everything from the issue of race to whether she pressured teen heartthrob Joe Jonas to smoke weed.

Here are five interesting things we learned from the interview:

1. She's looking forward to the next Miley Cyrus -- whoever that may be.

Cyrus is fully aware that America has a short attention span, even when it comes to celebs who like to stir the pot.

"Even when I hear that -- that someone, two years from now, is going to be the next kind of provocateur -- like, I can't wait to collab with whoever the hell that is, you know," she told the Times. "I'm like, whoever that is, I'm going to ride that wave."

2. It's rock 'n' roll, people!

The singer would like to remind people that she's a musician and they sometimes are edgy. The now 21-year-old former teen star says she has gone from "people just thinking I was, like, a baby to people thinking I'm this, like, sex freak that really just pops molly and does lines all day."

"It's like, 'Has anyone ever heard of rock 'n' roll?' " Cyrus said. "There's a sex scene in pretty much every single movie, and they go, 'Well, that's a character.' Well, that's a character. I don't really dress as a teddy bear and, like, twerk on Robin Thicke, you know?"

3. Other stars don't want to be associated with her.

Of course stars often hang out with other equally famous people, but Cyrus said she thinks some celebs are afraid of being associated with her. She doesn't have a ton of famous friends, she said, but she sometimes gets other celebs to cut loose -- only to quickly rein it back in for fear of the repercussions.

"I'll get someone to, like, flash me, and they'll be, like, 'You have to delete it!' I had to do that when I was 14 or 15, but even then I didn't care," she said. "Like, if someone was videoing me ripping a bong, I didn't care, so it's just funny to me. I'm like: 'Dude, you're 30. Like, why can't someone see a picture of your (breasts)?' "

4. Call her racist all you want; she knows the truth.

Some people called Miley's controversial performance at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards racist. She thought, "How do I win? If I have white dancers, then I'm racist. If I have black girl dancers, then I'm racist." Not only does she know she's not a racist, she said, but the criticism has not changed her thinking about race.

Just like her 80-year-old grandmother never thought to see an African-American president in her lifetime, Cyrus said, she knows that people's thinking will continue to evolve.

"I really thought about it a lot when Nelson Mandela passed away, because I couldn't even imagine living this life and seeing how much it's changed," she said. "So, you know, I look forward to when I'm older, my kids being like, 'What do you mean people ever even talked about what color your dancers were?' "

5. She longs for the day rising star Ariana Grande can be free.

If anyone knows about the confines of being a star to the masses of teens and tweens, it's Cyrus. That's why she says she would like to see singer and Nickelodeon star Ariana Grande be able to be a bit edgier. Grande has had a big year, with Top 40 hits and tons of exposure, but no way is she walking on the wild side like Cyrus.

"She's trying," Cyrus said. "I see her wearing the shorter things. She comes in, and she goes, 'This made me feel like you.' And I'm like, 'That was like my sixth-grade prom dress.' "

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