Miley Cyrus has said that as an adult she has come to realise how "harshly" she was judged during her childhood years.
The US pop star, 30, said that for years she had carried "guilt and shame around" due to media controversies and the upset she had caused.
Miley Cyrus, who rose to fame as a child on the Disney Channel show Hannah Montana, is the daughter of US country star Billy Ray Cyrus and his ex-wife Tish Cyrus - Miley's manager. The singer is the goddaughter of Dolly Parton.
Despite her teen-friendly beginnings, Miley Cyrus is now known for her rock 'n' roll vibe and often provocative performances.
Speaking to British Vogue, Cyrus said: "I carried some guilt and shame around myself for years because of how much controversy and upset I really caused.
"Now that I'm an adult, I realise how harshly I was judged.
"I was harshly judged as a child by adults and now, as an adult, I realise that I would never harshly judge a child."
Cyrus said that she was "actually not an attention-seeking person" but had created attention by dividing herself "from a character I had played".
But she added that she would not want her life and career story to become "a complaint of being a woman in the industry".
"I don't need this to be a women's empowerment story. I wear my empowerment at all times," she said.
"I don't need to profess it."
The singer's eighth studio album, Endless Summer Vacation, was released in March.
Cyrus is the cover star for the June edition of British Vogue.
The full interview feature with Miley Cyrus is available via digital download and in the shops from next week.
Source: Press Association
