Miley’s “Wrecking Ball” video injected her name back into the mouths of gleeful critics. In the video, she’s naked and crying, but mostly naked. The video was directed by Terry Richardson. The video starts with Miley staring into the camera soulfully, through tearful eyes set in a grimace of pain. She explains, through song, of the tragic end of a love affair that ended with her feeling wrecked. The background consists of stark white and, later, a cinderblock background that gets knocked down with a wrecking ball. Ok.

What critics will point out is that she’s naked- and kissing (or licking) on inanimate objects, such as sledge hammers and chains, but mostly, that she’s naked. They will point out that the amount of nudity is unnecessary and unhealthy for younger children that look to Miley for inspiration and idolization.

Cyrus’ fans will point out that Miley is no longer the child star that she once was and that she is viewed as an adult. She’s no longer part of Disney’s wholesome image and, therefore, no longer bound to carry it. They will also say the song is one of vulnerability and raw emotion- two components that are ever-present in a story of love and loss. Therefore, the nudity in the video is just a literal and visual representation of Miley’s love-induced torment. Course, they might be a little at loss to explain how Miley’s naked straddle on top of a giant wrecking ball fits into that.

No matter which side of the line you fall on, Miley’s back in the spot light, baring all. She seems to be snubbing her nose at directly at those that said her VMA performance was risque. She might have even been snickering. She must have known that her critics hadn’t seen anything yet.