Miley Cyrus’s intrinsically political and gloriously gay IGTV series Bright Minded is the kind of global community we need right now

Since bursting on to IGTV this March, Miley Cyrus’s live weekday series Bright Minded has been a revelation. Created in response to Covid-19, the series aims to provide a source of comfort and a sense of community in these challenging and often lonely times. It also makes for great television.

A typical episode of Bright Minded might feature a cooking class with Queer Eye’s Antoni Porowski, a seven-minute workout with Miley’s personal trainer Saul, contouring tips with drag queen Milk, upcycling your wardrobe with Jeremy Scott and a session with Miley’s therapist Dr Amen. Unscripted moments of delightful distraction include celebrities’ favourite films (you’re right, Reese Witherspoon, Overboard is a total classic) and Paris Hilton trying to position a wonky camera.

There are also dogs. Lots and lots of dogs, from Hilton’s cute Pomeranian pooch Prince Baby Bear to Miley’s rescue German shepherd pup Rainbow. Nicole Richie upped the ante recently when she introduced her bearded dragon Speedy. There’s sage advice and sober reflection from guests such as Demi Lovato, Hailey Bieber, Dua Lipa, Millie Bobby Brown, wrestler and documentarian Zion Clark, drag queen Trixie Mattel, YouTuber Rickey Thompson and Tish Cyrus (also known as Momma T). Unrivalled access into celebrity homes is another delightful bonus; Rita Ora’s flowery curtains! Reese Witherspoon’s striped wallpaper! Hilary Duff, get better wifi! Bright Minded is quite frankly a joy.

Better together

Even the name of the series projects good vibes. Bright Minded suggests, implores even, that if we stay positive, keep active and discuss new, alternate ways of thinking about the world, maybe, just maybe, we’ll be OK. The show’s tagline—“connecting w/ special guests discussing how to stay LIT in dark times!”—reaffirms Cyrus’s optimistic agenda. A note she posted on Instagram before the first episode further stated, “[this show will] not be political, or even about the illness — it is purely for HOPE and escapism.”

In fact, Bright Minded is arguably intrinsically political. Hosted by an LGBTQ+ female pop star, discussions include LGBTQ+ history, mental wellbeing and self-care during isolation, womanhood, family, poverty and homelessness. The free-flowing chat flips between people’s daily routines in isolation, to advice for those who might be struggling and tips for how we can all be more thoughtful and community-minded.

Meanwhile, the show is boldly feminist in its autocratic existence with its 100 per cent all-women cast and crew (granted, it’s a cast and crew of one), gloriously gay in its identity and global in its reach to millions of people. Transmitted without a broadcaster, free of the advertising and political agenda of a TV network, broadcast live and unfiltered, Bright Minded hints heavily at how creatives could interact in the future with fans, on their own terms and through their own channels with full autonomy.

Genuinely altruistic

Bright Minded is also an opportunity for Miley and guests to create and take control of their own narrative, unedited and unfiltered. As a woman picked apart by the press and hounded by the paparazzi since she was a teenager, Bright Minded shifts the optics from who Miley is dating and divorcing to far more interesting things. She’s able to make jokes about herself before anyone else can and she does it well—she recently compared her new quarantine-induced haircut to the memorable mullet of Joe Exotic, the focus of Netflix documentary, Tiger King. She sometimes wears the same Nike tracksuit for days on end, doesn’t always wear makeup and seems to exist just fine without the use of a selfie light. After years and years of being picked and pulled apart for her hair, skin, clothes and weight, Miley’s refusal to conform to any standards—other than her own  just because she happens to be talking to three million people, is refreshing.

Unconcerned with creating clickbait, Miley’s relaxed approach to interviewing draws out parts of people’s personality that we perhaps might not always see. When asked for a closing message to her fans, Nicole Richie instead asks people to support their local food banks. Paris Hilton pauses from reminiscing about Ibiza to thank Miley for creating the show. This isn’t a space to plug products and sell singles. It’s a genuinely altruistic attempt to connect and collaborate during a time when the whole globe is faced with terrible uncertainty.

Building a community

It helps that Miley is a gifted host. She prepares each episode diligently, intermittently picking up her laptop (covered in stickers of dogs) to read her script and ask guests pre-prepared questions. Considering it’s hosted by and featuring some very famous and wealthy people, it’s also self-aware, with consistent acknowledgement of the privilege Miley and some of her guests are afforded.

This idea of unfettered connectivity during isolation is also important, particularly as the show skews very much to the LGBTQ+ community, a group that will be particularly vulnerable during this crisis. The very presence of guests such as Milk, Trixie Mattel and Vijat Mohindra sends out the clear message that it is OK to be yourself. One day, things will be a little bit easier than they might be today. It also provides comfort to see a more vulnerable side of those you assume ‘have it all’. As Grammy-winning, multimillion-selling singer and songwriter Ryan Tedder noted on Bright Minded recently, “I swear to God, this interactivity kept my sanity.”

Ultimately, Bright Minded is building a diverse, inclusive community that wants to achieve change through conversation and being kind. How nice is that? As Miley says at the end of the show’s gloriously wonky theme tune, “Stay lit everybody!” Simple, but brilliant. Just like the show itself.

Bright Minded airs live each weekday from 11.30am PST. Watch back on Miley’s IGTV

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