Miley Cyrus was groped and kissed by a stranger, and she clapped back with a strong message about consent

UPDATE, June 4th: Cyrus responded to the incident with a series of posts on her Instagram Story. She uploaded the distressing video and wrote: “She can be wearing what she wants. She can be a virgin. She can be sleeping with 5 different people. She can be with her husband. She can be with her girlfriend. She can be naked. She CAN’T be grabbed without her consent.”

@mileycyrus, Instagram
@mileycyrus, Instagram
@mileycyrus, Instagram
@mileycyrus, Instagram
@mileycyrus, Instagram
@mileycyrus, Instagram

PREVIOUSLY, June 3rd: The rise of the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements have inspired important conversations about sexual harassment and assault. But, unfortunately, these incidents still remain far, far too common—and they don’t only happen behind closed doors. Over the weekend, Miley Cyrus was groped while walking in public in Barcelona with her husband, Liam Hemsworth.

A video shared to Twitter on June 2nd depicts the incident. (It’s distressing to watch, so we won’t embed it here.) In the clip, Cyrus and Hemsworth attempt to make their way through a mob of fans as they leave their hotel in Barcelona. Amid all of the people yelling her name and trying to snag smartphone footage of her walking by, one man took things way too far. He reached out and grabbed Cyrus, groping her breast and trying to kiss her. Cyrus pulled away, but it’s hard to tell if she managed to evade the kiss or not.

Security ultimately pushed the man off of Miley, but still the moment was an inexcusable violation.

So far, Cyrus hasn’t addressed what happened on social media. To be clear, she shouldn’t have to talk about it if she doesn’t want to. Instead, she’s been busy promoting her new EP, She Is Coming, which dropped on May 31st.

View this post on Instagram

Call me. I dare you. ☎️ 1-833-SHE-ISMC

A post shared by Miley Cyrus (@mileycyrus) on Jun 2, 2019 at 1:53pm PDT

It still makes us angry that there are people out there who view women’s bodies as something they’re entitled to touch at will.

This incident also shows why women shouldn’t be held responsible for avoiding harassment and assault. Instead, harassers should be held responsible for their actions. Cyrus was clearly doing everything she could have to avoid being attacked, and someone still grabbed her. We just hope that she’s okay today.