Miley Cyrus reiginited a Beyonce conspiracy theory as she introduced the award for Record of the Year during the 2025 Grammys.
Cyrus, 32, appeared on stage to announce the winner of the gong, where she finished her statements by joking she might just name Beyonce as the recipient of the award even if it was intended for someone else.
The statement raised eyebrows amongst some viewers, who brought up a bizarre conspiracy theory that speculates celebrities often thank Beyonce, 43, in their acceptance speeches due to fear of her influence.
Cyrus – who had just won a Grammy for her II Most Wanted collaboration with Beyonce – began with: ‘Good evening Grammys! We won Beyonce!’ she said, referencing their recent victory for best country duo/group performance during the pre-ceremony.
Before reading the winner in the envelope, she said: ‘As selected by the 13,000 voting members of the recording academy, the Grammy goes to… Even if it’s not you Beyonce, I might just say it is,’ she said, drawing laughter.
The award ultimately went to Kendrick Lamar for Not Like Us.
Miley Cyrus reiginited Beyonce conspiracy theories as she introduced the award for Record of the Year
The ‘thank you Beyonce’ conspiracy and trend gained traction on TikTok last year.
The wild theory goes that major stars are forced to thank the chart-topping singer at awards shows in their gushing speeches. The theory is that the superstar is so powerful in the music industry that others have to bow to her or else.
It has been suggested that is the reason why she is often mentioned in acceptance speeches during award ceremonies even when she has nothing to do with the projects the artist won for.
While there is no evidence supporting the theory that artists will be punished for not saying her name, that didn’t stop various social media users from reading into Miley’s shout-out.
‘Miley mentioning Beyonce not once BUT TWICE reminds me of the conspiracy theory,’ one posted to X.
‘Sounds like a whole lot of scared celebrities or Jay-Z to me,’ another wrote, referencing Beyonce’s husband Jay-Z.
A content creator reflected on Miley’s Beyonce shout-out on TikTok, stating, ‘At this point it doesn’t even feel like a conspiracy, it feels like a fact… Why are we bringing Beyonce into every single category? Why is it that every artist has to thank Beyonce?… Like what is going on? This is no longer conspiracy, it’s no longer conspiracy, this needs to be studied.’
One viewer posted a TikTok video reading: ‘Did anyone else notice how Miley shouted out Beyonce like 5 times when she was announcing?’
She captioned it: ‘Not a big conspiracy theorist but was weird #grammys #mileycyrus #beyonce #fyp #foryou.’
Meanwhile, on Instagram, one mused: ‘Isn’t it weird how Kanye interrupted Taylor Swift in 2009 just to hype up Beyonce? Then Adele thanked her. Lizzo thanked her. Even Jay-Z, her own husband, made a big deal about thanking her in 2024. Who is she that all these major artists feel the need to publicly praise her? Her music isn’t exactly legendary – so what’s really going on?’
‘Are we all forgetting the whole Beyonce conspiracy theory?!?!’ another commented.
Beyonce won several awards that evening, including a gong for her collaboration with Miley Cyrus
The praise made several social media users think of the conspiracy theory
But some hit back against the theory
The wild theory goes that major stars are forced to thank the chart-topping singer at awards shows in their gushing speeche
‘Miley don’t want any “accidents” that’s why she thanking Bey,’ another posted.
Last year, the conspiracy theory sparked a TikTok trend that saw users come up with their own hilarious comedic skits where they thanked Beyonce when they did everyday things like say hello or sneeze just because they were afraid something bad would happen to them if they didn’t.
Some examples given for this silly theory include Adele.
In 2017, Adele won Album of the Year at the Grammys and during her speech, she said that Beyonce was a major inspiration. She also said that Bey was the ‘artist of my life.’
A pattern of celebrities thanking Beyonce during their acceptance speeches has led to a conspiracy theory that they must do so due to her influence
In 2023 Lizzo thanked Beyonce during her Grammy win speech.
Long before that in 2009 Kanye West brought up Beyonce’s name during the VMAs.
It happened when he rudely interrupted Taylor Swift during her 2009 acceptance speech at the VMAs.
He said that Beyonce should have won.
‘I’mma let you finish, but Beyonce had one of the best videos of all time!’ said West, who is the ex of Kim Kardashian, said at the MTV show.
These are the three examples of her incredible, far-reaching power, TikTokers have said.
