‘I thought it was my last day’: Miley Cyrus ended up in the ICU with a disintegrating leg, recalls a surgeon found her ‘disgusting’

Pop star Miley Cyrus recently shared a frightening health scare that sent her to the intensive care unit (ICU) last November. The incident happened while she was filming her visual album Something Beautiful and involved a serious leg infection that caused the tissue around her kneecap to “break down,” according to Cyrus herself.

The infection started because of an unusual choice of location for the filming. Wanting real footage for the “Walk of Fame” part of her visual album, Cyrus decided to film on the actual Hollywood Walk of Fame at night to avoid paying for permits and dealing with crowds. But this decision led to unexpected problems. While filming, Cyrus rolled around on the ground without realizing she was exposing herself to dangerous bacteria.

The effects of this unplanned filming spot became clear a few weeks later. According to People, by Thanksgiving, the infection had gotten much worse, leading to serious complications. Cyrus ended up in the ICU, though she explained that her stay was short because the emergency room was full of holiday-related patients.

Miley Cyrus was infected by the Hollywood Walk of Fame

The infection was so bad that it surprised doctors. Cyrus described how one doctor reacted when examining her leg: the surgeon was visibly disgusted by the sight of the breaking-down tissue around her kneecap, which Cyrus found both shocking and upsetting, especially since surgeons usually see much worse medical cases every day. The infection was severe enough to damage the tissue around her kneecap.

This situation shows the possible dangers of filming in dirty places, even for famous artists with big budgets. While Cyrus originally said she had a “pretty good budget” for her visual album, she admitted that how she chose to spend that money might have played a role in skipping the permits needed to film on the Walk of Fame.

The exact type of bacteria that caused the infection hasn’t been shared, but how badly the tissue broke down suggests it was a very aggressive kind. Thankfully, Cyrus made a full recovery, but the experience clearly stayed with her. The singer said she regretted her choices, especially filming in such an unclean place.

The incident also gives a look at the challenges artists face when trying to balance their creative ideas with safety and budget limits. Cyrus’s story shows how unpredictable filming on location can be and points out the risks that come with unusual filming methods.

Besides the physical harm, the emotional impact of the experience was also big. Cyrus said the surgeon’s reaction was especially disturbing, showing how a medical emergency like this can have unexpected emotional effects. The whole thing made her think carefully about how she approaches future projects, deciding to put her safety first from now on.

Her visual album Something Beautiful, which came out on May 30, 2025, now has a much deeper meaning. While it was meant to be a display of her music, the project is now tied to the almost-disastrous event on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The album, which Cyrus called a “wild and over-the-top” visual experience, is now also proof of her strength and her openness in sharing a very personal and warning-filled story.