Miley Cyrus Opens Up About Health Scares, Hospitalization and Her Grit Behind New Album ‘Something Beautiful’

From ICU stints to vocal cord damage, the pop icon shares the extreme lengths she went to—rolling on Hollywood Boulevard and all—to bring her boldest visual project to life.

Miley Cyrus Landed in ICU After Kneecap Infection From Filming ‘Something Beautiful’

Miley Cyrus has never shied away from bold choices, but her latest creative endeavor may be her most daring—and physically demanding—yet. While filming the visual companion for her ninth studio album Something Beautiful, the singer found herself in the ICU with a shocking infection that left part of her kneecap “disintegrating.”

During a candid appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live, the 31-year-old pop star detailed the painful—and frankly, bizarre—experience that unfolded after she filmed scenes for her new album on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

“I caught something!” Cyrus exclaimed to Kimmel, referring to the infection she contracted after physically rolling around the famous tourist landmark. The decision to shoot there came out of budget constraints. Despite a “pretty good budget,” Cyrus admitted, “I spent it all on my clothes,” leaving little left for location permits or sanitation.

“So what are you going to do?” she recalled her team asking. “Are you going to rent this thing or what?” Instead, she chose to film guerrilla-style in the middle of the night. “Have you been to the Walk of Fame in the middle of the night?” she asked Kimmel, visibly cringing. “I thought it was my last day.”

Soon after the shoot, she developed a severe infection in her leg. “By November, at Thanksgiving, I was put in an ICU for a moment—just for a moment,” she said, noting the ER was packed with holiday-related incidents. What shocked her most, however, was the doctors’ reaction.

“To have a surgeon look at you and say, ‘Yuck’…” Cyrus said, trailing off. “They open up cadavers. They see inside the guts of humans. And they’re looking at me, telling me I’m disgusting.”

A Series of Health Setbacks

This isn’t the first health scare Cyrus has faced while pushing the limits of her art. She also revealed she ruptured an ovarian cyst—“extremely excruciating,” she noted—while performing during her NBC New Year’s Eve special to ring in 2023.

The singer has previously shared that she suffers from Reinke’s edema, a condition that affects the vocal cords and is exacerbated by overuse. “Being 21 and staying up and drinking and smoking and partying after every show does not help,” she said in a recent Apple Music interview with Zane Lowe. “But also in my case, it does not cause it. My voice always sounded like this—it’s a part of my unique anatomy.”

On top of that, she revealed she has a large polyp on her vocal cords, which has made touring and live performances increasingly difficult. “It’s like running a marathon with ankle weights on,” she admitted.

Beauty in the Chaos

Despite these challenges, Cyrus remains undeterred. The Something Beautiful visual album is set to debut alongside the audio release on May 30, with a one-night-only theatrical screening on June 12. The project appears to be a raw, unfiltered reflection of the chaos and creativity that continue to define her ever-evolving career.

Miley’s unwavering commitment to her vision, even at the expense of her health, is a reminder of the dedication and passion that lie beneath her celebrity image. With Something Beautiful, she’s not just delivering music—she’s delivering vulnerability, authenticity, and a story of resilience that may be her most compelling yet.