Why Fans Are Worried Miley Cyrus Has Abandoned Her Career To Join A 'Cult' Called The Modern Mystery School
She's been absent from the public eye, and some fans fear the worst.
Brian Friedman / Shutterstock Fans of Miley Cyrus are voicing their concerns about her apparent absence from the public eye. Cyrus released her most recent studio album, "Endless Summer Vacation," in March 2023, yet since then, she seems to have stepped out of the spotlight.
Her shift towards a private life has many fans wondering if there’s something sinister going on underneath the surface.
Worried fans allege that Miley Cyrus might have joined a cult, known as the Modern Mystery School.
A woman named Michelle made a post on TikTok to address the rumors that Cyrus is in a cult. She stated, “I just saw on Twitter that Miley Cyrus is now in a cult. The cult is called the Modern Mystery School, and it’s not really a school.”
“It’s allegedly an organization that trains healing practitioners in the tradition of the lineage of King Solomon,” Michelle continued. “These healers are encouraged to join sacrifices every year. They sign contracts stating that they aren’t allowed to tell anyone about it.”
According to Michelle, “These two girls, Lily and Blue, were allegedly healers at the cult school. They allegedly met Miley in February of 2023, right after Flowers dropped, and encouraged her to join their cult. And allegedly, this is the reason that Miley has been so MIA. No performances, no public appearances, no promotion for the album at all, aside from the Disney+ special that was back in March.”
Michelle even explained that many of Miley's fans believe that her Instagram account is being run by an intern of some sort, saying, “Her first couple of posts about Flowers were very loving and personal, and as the weeks went on, they sounded very AI-generated, which makes people think that someone is posting on her behalf.”
Michelle quoted Cyrus’ sister, Brandi, who appeared on a podcast in which she said, “I’m not speaking for Miley. I’m not speaking for anybody. I’m not speaking for fans. But from what I gather, fans are a little frustrated that Miley’s been a little quiet on social media, and not doing public performances. This is what the fans tell me, is that, you know, ‘Where is Miley? We miss her. Like, we want to see her play.’ And she’s not doing those things.”
Cyrus posted a message to fans on May 24, 2024, seeming to explain that she was going to take a step away from touring and performing.
“For clarity, I feel connected to my fans NOW more than ever,” Cyrus wrote. “This has nothing to do with a lack of appreciation for the fans and everything to do with I simply don’t want to get ready in a locker room. Which is the reality of life on the road... I just don’t want to sleep on a moving bus. It isn’t what’s best for me right NOW.”
Despite her message that she’s taking time off, fans worry Cyrus has become involved in the Modern Mystery School.
“This is a picture of Miley with these two girls again, Blue and Lily, from one of their healing cult lectures in May,” Michelle claimed, as a photo of Cyrus sitting in a room emblazoned with the phrase “Know Thyself” flashed on screen.
Photo: TikTok / @michelletok
While it’s not clear where Cyrus is located in that photograph, the statement “Know Thyself” is one that’s used by Dave Lanyon, an alleged “Master Metaphysician and Lineage Holder in The Modern Mystery School,” according to an article published in VICE in 2021.
The Modern Mystery School was founded by Gudni Gudnason. The organization claims to offer “a transformational journey that will definitely change your life, and that just might change the world.” It claims to initiate “peace on this planet by uplifting the hearts and minds of humanity” by giving students the opportunity to “work with energy to manifest the life you truly want to live.”
Yet as VICE reporter Mark Wilding discovered through student interviews and financial calculations, “It appears that many students spend at least $20,000 to reach the school’s upper ranks. Some former students say they parted with hundreds of thousands of dollars to access what the school describes as ‘the top of the pyramid of training.’”
Wilding also noted that prices for the various initiation ceremonies “denoting a student’s progression to a new rank within the hierarchy” significantly increase as students move through the ranks of the school.
He made the claim that “critics, including numerous former students, describe it as a cult and a spiritual pyramid scheme, whose members face psychological trauma, spiraling debts, and relationship breakdowns.”
Critics of the Modern Mystery School also alleged that sex was often utilized as a coercive tool to control female students.
Wilding wrote, “Former students told me sex was explicitly promoted in Ritual Masterclasses as a tool to be used in the school’s fight against evil.” He quoted an anonymous former student, who claimed, “They would say sexual energy is such a powerful energy in terms of life force and our existence.”
According to the Cult Education Institute, various warning signs of what might constitute a cult exist. Their website describes some of those warning signs, which include leaders promoting an “Unreasonable fear about the outside world, such as impending catastrophe, evil conspiracies and persecutions,” and that “Former members often relate the same stories of abuse and reflect a similar pattern of grievances.”
It’s entirely possible that Cyrus is just taking time off from the grind of the music industry. If fans’ fears are justified, it’s also possible that she’s in a vulnerable position within a predatory organization.
Alexandra Blogier is a writer on YourTango's news and entertainment team. She covers celebrity gossip, pop culture analysis, and all things to do with the entertainment industry.