The appearance of Miley Cyrus' bodyguard at the Grammys has sparked a wild theory on social media.
YouTuber Matt Wallace asked viewers to "pay close attention" to the 31-year-old's escort in a video he shared to X, formerly Twitter.
The footage shows Cyrus walking the red carpet at Sunday's award ceremony, with a security team in tow. Wallace claims the bodyguard to the singer's left is holding a concealed weapon, hidden under an umbrella in his right hand.
Wallace cited how the man is holding the umbrella as evidence, wondering if the pop star is "in danger." At the time of publishing, the clip has received 24.1 million views.
"This [is] fascinating," commented SparklesArt.
"Index finger placement is interesting," said Phil. "Do people carry other things with an index finger placed as such?"
"She likes to attract the attention," wrote Mukhtar.
"Very good observation," said @Andreas00000000. "And the bodyguard does a very good job hiding this. As good as possible, because I didn't noticed it at first."
However, other fans were dubious, with Amber K commenting: "I see nothing exciting here."
"You do realize it was raining right?" said David Jobrist.
"Nah he just walks awkwardly holding the umbrella," wrote Slimewhale.
"You have too much free time," said @GeeshawaK," while Retrobettie commented: "OMG not everything is a conspiracy get a grip..like the grip the guy has on the UMBRELLA!"
Newsweek has reached out to Miley Cyrus for comment via Instagram.
Cyrus was nominated for six awards at this year's Grammys, winning two. The former Disney star took home the Best Record and Best Pop Performance accolades, both for her song "Flowers."
Cyrus sung the track at the awards ceremony, celebrating her first win on stage.
Instead of launching into the chorus following the line "Started to cry, but then remembered," Cyrus sang "then remembered, I just won my first Grammy."
Although the audience at Los Angeles' Crypto.com arena clearly enjoyed the set, bursting into applause, her performance received mixed reactions online.
Users described her moves as "forced" and "awkward," while others accused the star of copying divas such as Tina Turner and Donna Summer.
However, many fans defended Cyrus, calling the criticism of her performance "disgusting."
"Miley cyrus is a superstar," said @oohanisgod.
"Literally how can you hate miley cyrus she's such a sweetheart," wrote Olivier, while Alice said: "she just knows how to steal the night."
Update 02/05/24 4:58 a.m. ET: This article has been updated to include further information on Cyrus' Grammy's performance.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Sophie is a Newsweek Pop Culture and Entertainment Reporter based in Lincoln, UK. Her focus is reporting on film and ... Read more
