Wrecking Ball (Miley Cyrus song) for "Billboard", Jason Lipshutz stated that the "nude Cyrus shown straddling a swinging wrecking ball" was the most surprising piece of the clip. Amelia Proud from "Daily Mail" provided a mixed review, commenting that Cyrus delivered a visual that was more provocative than its "boisterous" predecessor "We Can't Stop" and questioned if she has "finally gone too far this time". The staff from "Entertainment Weekly" joked that viewers would be "scandalized/titillated/disappointed in Billy Ray Cyrus' parenting skills" after seeing his daughter nude and "fellating a sledgehammer. " Writing for "The Guardian", Michael Hann criticized Cyrus' attempts to distance herself from
Wrecking Ball (Miley Cyrus song) her innocent "Hannah Montana" image, a former television series in which Cyrus portrayed the primary character Miley Stewart, a middle school student who led a secret double life as pop star Hannah Montana. He disapproved of the manner in which she transitioned into a career beyond her childhood success, specifically panning her for "exploring the iconography of porn." As of January 2015, "Billboard" named the video as the fourth best music video of the 2010s (so far). James Montgomery from MTV News noted that the controversy surrounding Cyrus' nude performance in the video was "to be expected" given her recent