Miley Cyrus‘ highly anticipated Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special finally premiered Tuesday (March 24) on Disney+, featuring special cameos from both Chappell Roan and Selena Gomez.
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The feature found the “Flowers” singer revisiting the set and musical catalog of Hannah Montana, the show that made her a global star in 2006. At one point, Roan — who’s previously shared how the Disney Channel series inspired her own pop artistry — visited Cyrus on the soundstage.
“You literally walked so I could run,” the Missouri native told her childhood idol, looking emotional. “What I do on stage, where I can just go on a red carpet and be … that was because you took a lot of the heat for that in 2012, 2013. I don’t have to deal with that as much because you really — the world took it out on you.”
Roan was referencing the viral moment in 2024 when she scolded a photographer at the VMAs for allegedly rude behavior, which Cyrus said left her “gagged” in the special. The latter also noted how touched she was that the Gen Z star watched Hannah Montana as a child.
“I’m so grateful that I get to be a part of this,” Roan said. “I grew up watching Hannah at my grandparents’ house.”
Elsewhere in the special, Gomez — who guest starred on a couple of episodes of Hannah Montana, playing Miley/Hannah’s arch nemesis and rival pop star, Mikayla — turned up on set and bonded with Cyrus over their shared Disney roots. “I thought that this would overwhelm me more, and I would feel super emotional and not be able to control the tears, but it’s actually been really fun,” Cyrus told Gomez.
The Rare Beauty founder reminisced on wearing the “blue weird makeup” for one episode, in which Miley’s character clashed with Mikayla on the set of an alien movie. “I remember feeling ugly in that, cause we’re, like, 15, and I wanna feel pretty, and I’m like, ‘Ugh,’” Gomez said, laughing before marveling at how “mean” their characters were to each other. “I don’t think they would get away saying half of that now.”
“The whole Meet Miley album was, like, my life,” Gomez added to Cyrus before exiting. “You created culture, babe.”
The Hannah Montana anniversary special also featured Cyrus performing iconic tracks from the franchise such as “The Climb” and “This Is the Life.” Plus, the star sat for an interview about all things Hannah with Call Her Daddy host Alex Cooper, chatted with parents Billy Ray and Tish Cyrus, and recalled everything from Taylor Swift’s cameo in the Hannah Montana movie to touring with The Jonas Brothers.
