Miley Cyrus Knew She Was 'Making History' With Robin Thicke at the VMAs

Miley Cyrus and Robin Thicke during a live performance of "Blurred Lines" at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards.
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Miley Cyrus has broken her silence on her twerk-filled performance at the MTV Video Music Awards, telling MTV in a newly released interview that people overreacted to her now-infamous duet with Robin Thicke.

"They're over thinking it," Cyrus says of her critics, including the Parents Television Council, whose advisory board includes the singer's father. "You're thinking about it more than I thought about it when I did it. Like, I didn't even think about it 'cause that's just me."

Cyrus correctly notes that there's a precedent in place for outrageous moments at the VMAs -- all in the name of trying to make the history books. 

"I don't pay attention to the negative because I've seen this play out so many times. How many times have we seen this play out in pop music?" she asked. "Madonna's done it. Britney's done it. Every VMA performance, that's what you're looking for; you're wanting to make history."

In fact, she says: "Me and Robin [Thicke,] the whole time said, 'You know we're about to make history right now.'"

Cyrus began her VMAs performance with her hit "We Can't Stop," which transitioned into a medley with Thicke for his songs "Blurred Lines" and "Give It 2 U." During the course of the performance, a tongue-wagging Cyrus grinded and twerked with Thicke while wearing a skimpy bikini outfit. While there has been no shortage of criticism, some fellow stars have come to her defense.

"It's the VMAs. It's not like she did it at the Grammys. Like, let her do her thing," said Justin Timberlake. "Madonna, wedding suit, humping the stage. Britney, striptease… This is not an uncommon thing."

Echoing that sentiment, 30 Seconds to Mars frontman Jared Leto told Billboard that it's not like this was the Kennedy Center Honors or anything. Watch: