In August 2013 , Cyrus became the subject of widespread international media attention and public scrutiny following a controversial performance and duet with Robin Thicke at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards at Barclays Center in New York City . The performance began with Cyrus performing " We Ca n't Stop " in bear-themed attire . Following this , Thicke entered the stage and Cyrus stripped down to a skin-colored two-piece outfit . Cyrus subsequently touched Thicke 's crotch area with a giant foam finger and twerked against his crotch . An article published in '' The Hollywood Reporter '' described the performance as " crass " and " reminiscent of a bad acid trip " . The performance was described by '' XXL '' critic B. J. Steiner as a " trainwreck in the classic sense of the word as the audience reaction seemed to be a mix of confusion , dismay and horror in a cocktail of embarrassment " , while the BBC said Cyrus stole the show with a " raunchy performance " . The performance generated 306,100 tweets per minute on Twitter , breaking the record for the most tweeted-about event in the history of the social network ; the previous record , held by the Super Bowl XLVII halftime show featuring Beyoncé , generated 268,000 tweets per minute . Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone magazine recognized published a criticism of the presentation of Cyrus at the MTV Video Music Awards 2013 , “ It 's Miley , Bitch : The Tongue That Licked the World ” . The article praises the performance of the singer said : " Miley was the one star in the room who truly understood what the MTV Video Music Awards are all about — waggling your tongue , grabbing your crotch , rocking a foam finger , going to third with the Care Bears , twerking and shrieking and acting out America 's goriest pop-psycho nightmares . She showed up Robin Thicke as one uptight douche , though he helped by dressing as the world 's edgiest Foot Locker manager . Miley stole the night , which is why the nation is still in recovery today . Thanks , Miley . " According to '' Forbes '' , Cyrus ' performance resulted in a gain of over 213,000 Twitter followers , 226,000 likes on Facebook , and 90,000 downloads of her new promotional single , " Wrecking Ball " , within days of the controversial performance . This amounted to a total 112 % increase in Cyrus ' social media activity
2013 MTV Video Music Awards
2013 MTV Video Music Awards
We Can't Stop