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Miley Cyrus revealed the “terrible habit” she picked up from her legendary godmother, Dolly Parton.
Cyrus, 33, spoke about her highly-anticipated Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special in a cover story interview with Variety, which published on Wednesday morning (March 18). The Grammy-winning artist launched her career with her role as the title character, playing a typical teenager who’s living a double life as a famous pop star. The iconic show premiered on March 24, 2006. The final episode aired on January 16, 2011.
Cyrus admitted that she’d manifested the anniversary special, which makes its debut on March 24 on Disney+, by teasing it before it was set in stone.
“I learned this terrible habit — but I actually think it was good advice — from Dolly,” Cyrus told Variety. “She told me that if you want something to happen, promote it before it exists. Then no one can say no. So I just started promoting a ‘Hannah Montana’ 20th-anniversary special that literally did not exist.”
Cyrus went on to say that she has a “connection” with her pop star character. “It’s not just a TV show. I see daily how important Hannah is to people. When I travel, people bring me ‘Hannah’ merch. They ask, ‘Are you ever going to do another season?’” The “Flowers” megastar garnered strong responses from fans, proving to Disney that the special “would be huge.” Charlie Andrews, an executive with the company, told Variety that Cyrus “willed it into existence.”
Parton, who appeared as a guest star on Hannah Montana, is distantly related to Cyrus. Ancestry data revealed the two artists are actually seventh cousins, once removed. The two artists share common ancestor John Brickey, who is Parton’s 6th great-grandfather and Cyrus’ 7th great-grandfather, the data showed. Parton reacted to the Ancestry findings in an interview with Access Hollywood: “Is that true? That’s amazing. Well we’re so close, Miley and I, I would’ve thought we would’ve been at least, you know, third cousins, 10 times removed. And I’m sure she’ll get a kick out of that. But it doesn’t surprise me because she does feel like family.”
Cyrus wrote when Parton appeared among TIME’s 100 most influential people in 2021, in part: “Dolly is not only my idol because of her incomparable career—she’s also my role model because of her steadfast morals and values. At her core, she is the definition of a humanitarian. She’s also the world’s most impeccably purposeful walking contradiction, having developed her iconic look after being inspired by the town tramp. Now she’s known as a saintly, even godlike, figure. ...There’s a theory that you shouldn’t meet your heroes, but I wish everyone had the chance to meet Dolly Parton, because she’s even better than your sparkliest dreams. She may be my fairy godmother, but I think she’s that to everyone else too. I am happy to share her with the world.”