Jennifer Swann“Somewhere in America, Miley Cyrus is still twerkin,'” Jay-Z raps on his latest album, proving prescient of her VMAs twerkjob that folks are still talking about.
In fact, now there's a billboard-sized banner on the subject. If you've taken the 10 freeway east toward downtown L.A. recently, then you've seen the giant black strip displaying the words “Twerk Miley.” So, what's the deal?
“Twerk Miley” sign as seen from the rooftop of Casa Vertigo; Credit: Photo: J. Swann
The banner was installed early last week on the rooftop of event space Casa Vertigo — which hosts everything from quinceañeras to wedding receptions to movie shoots — and it's since caught the attention of everyone from Perez Hilton to Miley Cyrus herself, who posted a photo of it on Instagram with the caption “I always knew I'd see my name in lights.”
You can see the banner in all its glory from the massive freeway interchange between the 10 East and the 110 South.
Casa Vertigo owner and mega-Miley-fan Shawn Farr is responsible for putting it up, and says the banner has already attracted interest from promoters who'd like to host a Miley Cyrus-themed club night that would take place at the nine-ballroom venue with a rooftop. “it would be sold out for the next couple of months at least,” he speculates.
And if the banner isn't distracting enough for freeway drivers as it is, Farr is looking to hire a dancer to twerk on the rooftop in front of the lit-up banner during club nights.
This is not a joke.
“Twerk Miley” sign as seen from the 110 South freeway entrance; Credit: Photo: J. Swann
A fan of Cyrus ever since his now 18-year-old daughter started watching Hannah Montana, Iranian-born Farr says his family has “grown with Miley” over the years, and that her controversial VMA performance proved she's a true performer. “Maybe it was too fast for this time, like the time when Madonna kissed Britney [Spears at the 2003 VMAs] and everybody said, 'Oh wow,'” Farr says. “But Miley did very well on her own marketing above all, because Miley is on the top of the chart now.” Not to mention the top of Casa Vertigo.
Certainly not everyone's a fan of the banner — we've personally heard rumblings — but Farr insists the response has been mostly positive. For example, he printed out Cyrus' Instagram of the banner and showed it to the birthday girl at her quinceañera on Saturday, and she was “happy and thankful” to have her party at a space Cyrus had photographed, he says.
Meanwhile, Farr's hair salon, Vertigo Salon, is planning to introduce its “Miley Cut” and Farr says he'll be the first in line to get one. The salon's website even features a Cyrus look-alike. Again, this is not a practical joke.
Cyrus is also clearly an influence for Farr's fashion line, Vertigo USA, whose Facebook page posts photos of Cyrus' outfits and fashion models with cropped, bleach-blonde hair.
Coincidentally, Cyrus' newest video just dropped, although we're sorry to report that it doesn't feature any twerking — just a lot of licking of inanimate objects intended to pulverize things.
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