Miley Cyrus VMAs Backup Dancer Hollis Jane: It Was “Degrading” as Little Person

Miley Cyrus VMAs Backup Dancer Hollis Jane: It Was “Degrading” as Little Person, Hollis Jane, a little person who served as one of the costumed “bear” backup dancers for Miley Cyrus’ infamous VMAs performance, is speaking out about her “degrading” experience, which she says left her “shaking and crying.”

In a lengthy post on her personal blog, Jane talks about how she was hired for the high-profile job — and her regrets.

“We can all agree that right now all Miley Cyrus wants to do is make society’s jaw drop,” writes the performer. “So what’s more ‘weird’ or ‘freaky’ than having little people parading around in your show?”

She says the VMAs opened her eyes.

“It was my first time doing anything like that… anything where I was being used because of my height, not because of my talent,” explains Jane. “And I will be the first one to tell you that standing on that stage, in that costume was one of the most degrading things I felt like I could ever do.”

She writes, “I had never been in a performance where I was purely meant to be gawked or laughed at. I will never forget that performance because it is what forced me to draw my personal line in the sand. After our first dress rehearsal in the costumes with the crew, publicists, performers etc watching us, I walked out of the Barclay Center shaking and crying.”

“I love being the center of attention, but that was something different. I was being stared and laughed at for all of the wrong reasons,” explains the back-up dancer. “I was being looked at as a prop… as something less than human.”

Jane says, “When I did the VMAs, I did feel [less than human]. For the first time I felt truly ashamed of being a little person.”