Miley Cyrus stopped by “
The Ellen DeGeneres Show” on Monday to wish the host a happy 61st birthday, and debuted some special accessories in the birthday girl’s honor.
Cyrus, 26, performed her hit “
Nothing Breaks Like a Heart” alongside Mark Ronson wearing a pair of earrings dangling with tiny versions of DeGeneres’ iconic 1997
Time magazine cover, on which the comedian publicly came out as gay.
“These are my special birthday earrings for Ellen,” the pop star shared after her performance. “One of the million reasons why you are just inspiring and I’m always happy to be here and be on your show.”
DeGeneres’ groundbreaking “Yep, I’m Gay” issue debuted just a couple of weeks before an episode of her sitcom “Ellen” in which her character, Ellen Morgan, also came out; titled “The Puppy Episode,” it was watched by a whopping 42 million people.
“When I decided to have my character on the show come out, I knew I was going to have to come out too,” DeGeneres told the magazine at the time. “But I didn’t want to talk about it until the show was done … I never wanted to be the spokesperson for the gay community. Ever. I did it for my own truth.”
Continued the star: “I don’t think I could have done this a long time ago, and I don’t think people would have accepted it as readily as they do now. Now I feel comfortable with myself, and I don’t have to be fearful about something damaging my career if it gets out, because now I’m in control of it — sort of. No one can hurt me now.”
Over two decades later, it’s clear the comedian’s decision to speak her truth is still every bit as inspiring — even to superstars like Cyrus.