Nobody’s perfect, not even Miley Cyrus’ mom, Tish.
Over the weekend, Billy Ray Cyrus posted this photo of wife, Tish, posing with what’s safe to say a LOT of weed.
Miley’s mom commented on the photo, clarifying the drugs were not hers.
But while the photo may have been shared in good fun, the internet didn’t seem to take it that way.
The photo went viral and the Cyruses felt the heat as people online called them out for exemplifying white privilege and debated the double standards associated with drug law enforcement.
Thousands of Black people are in jail for the most minor weed offenses but Miley Cyrus’ mom can post this on Instagram with no issues. pic.twitter.com/2QpUs13Npy
— cdc (@cxcope) February 16, 2019
Think of all the people incarcerated right now on marijuana charges. And you wonder why so many people understand that criminal justice is often neither fair nor just. https://t.co/mKNpzxGEVk
— Soledad O’Brien (@soledadobrien) February 16, 2019
this should be the poster child for White Privilege.
when you have thousands of young men & women, of color, sitting in jail cells for YEARS selling weed, yet you have the Cyrus family showing off their POUNDS upon POUNDS of weed.
this is distasteful. this is unlawful https://t.co/iGLEIpFuQZ
— •• (@lindsey_ericax) February 18, 2019
Billy Ray Damn Cyrus out here with a vault full of weed. Meanwhile, Black folks are doing prison bids for housing a fraction of that. #blackhistorymonth https://t.co/PKqf3xxkbO
— Random Ass Black Man (@cornfednegro2) February 17, 2019
FREE EVERY BLACK AND BROWN PERSON SITTING IN THE BOX FOR GOOFY WEED CHARGES https://t.co/7xUpvQ6glL
— d. Watkins (@dwatkinsworld) February 17, 2019
One Twitter user even quoted Cynthia Nixon, who ran for New York City governor last year, to make their point.
“We have to stop putting people of color in jail for something that white people do with impunity,” – Cynthia Nixon on Marijuana use https://t.co/RJPW5Ev6Lg
— StanceGrounded (@_SJPeace_) February 17, 2019
Other voices online came to the stars’ defense, calling out other celebs like Wiz Khalifa for similar behavior and diverting the guilt to the justice system.
So Wiz Khalifa can have his own strain, smoke marijuana on national television and constantly speak on weed, but the minute the Cyrus’s say they smoke everyone wants to say “white privilege”. Yall are phonies https://t.co/gRwWjrMWaH
— Julia (@julia_veronicaa) February 18, 2019
Thousands of Black people are in jail for the most minor weed offenses but Miley Cyrus’ mom can post this on Instagram with no issues. pic.twitter.com/2QpUs13Npy
— cdc (@cxcope) February 16, 2019
you’re here dragging Miley Cyrus mom for posting a picture with weed instead of calling for action or dragging politicians and the justice stystem and that’s exactly why twitter activism from fake wokes wont ever change shit or revolutionize anything ????
— sofi the gemini ???? Ⓥ (@drugsballads) February 17, 2019
This isn’t the first time the Cyrus family caught heat for drug use. Back in 2010, a video of Miley smoking salvia from a bong was leaked, marking the beginning of the “Can’t Be Tamed” singer’s tumultuous journey in the spotlight. (RELATED: Miley Cyrus’ Transformation Timeline: From Disney Star to Infamous Twerker to Fresh-Faced ‘Malibu’)
Similar to salvia, weed is also legal in California, where the photo of Tish was taken.