Joe Rogan Experience #1531 - Miley Cyrus

Miley describes her deeper, raspy voice as a kind of ‘scar’ from years of over-touring, late nights, smoking, and emotional trauma, emphasizing that like wrinkles on a face, your voice and body reflect lifestyle and experiences.

She notes that, as a teen star, there was no concept of recovery days despite heavy schedules, and only later did she realize she has to treat herself like an athlete—prioritizing rest, diet, supplements, and mental health to have a long career.

After anxiety, intense drug use, and a childhood head injury, Miley worked with Dr. Daniel Amen, using SPECT brain scans and bloodwork to see overactivity and weak ‘brakes,’ which informed her choices around substances, omega-3s, and lifestyle.

She’s sober from weed and hard drugs and mostly avoids alcohol because of hangovers and genetic addiction risk, but rejects rigid moralizing—saying people should experiment carefully, be informed, and understand their own limits and vulnerabilities.

Miley worries she’s “too tough” because she can move on from relationships decisively, but Joe reframes this as resilience; the ‘cold bitch’ label often comes from partners who can’t accept that someone can let go and still be a good person.

She describes insisting on specific lighting and keeping a handheld mic at the VMAs, pushing back when assertiveness was called ‘diva’ behavior, and contrasting that with how male artists are praised as ‘creative geniuses’ for similar demands.

With chronic hip/back pain, high mental energy, and stress, Miley realizes she needs intense, regular exercise—like running, bag work, and strength training—to ‘exercise the demons,’ reduce inflammation, and avoid destructive coping behaviors.