What happened to Miley Cyrus in Black Mirror?

The fifth season of Black Mirror premiered on Netflix on June 5, 2019. Known for its exploration of the dark side of technology, the series returned with three new stories. One of them, titled Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too, featured pop star Miley Cyrus in a leading role. Her appearance generated wide interest due to the episode's themes and how closely they reflected issues often discussed in the entertainment industry.

During the filming of this episode in South Africa, Cyrus experienced a personal crisis. Her home in Malibu was destroyed by the 2018 Woolsey fire, which led to lingering emotional effects that she later connected to scenes filmed for the show. Despite this, she completed filming, including a music video performance as Ashley O, shortly after learning about the loss of her house.

In this episode, Cyrus plays Ashley O, a fictional pop icon struggling with pressures from those managing her career. The story follows how Ashley O's consciousness is manipulated for profit, raising ethical questions about artificial intelligence and human autonomy.

Viewers saw a version of Cyrus that moved away from her real-life musical identity and into the world of sci-fi dystopia. The episode doesn’t offer easy answers but gives a closer look into what happens when personal freedom is replaced by commercial control.

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Miley Cyrus’s experience filming the episode

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Miley Cyrus has openly discussed her experience filming the Black Mirror episode. She shared that the role of Ashley O echoed some of her personal experiences as a pop star. In an interview with The Guardian published on June 1, 2019, she said,

"It’s an important story that needs to be told, such a realistic take on what it’s like working in the music industry. It really portrays the overt exploitation of artists and that numbers usually eclipse the creative most of the time."

She also explained, "It was a great collaboration, but there is a part of Ashley O that is not a character. I worked closely with Anne, the director and the show creators to share some of my personal experiences and help craft the episode."

As part of her Used to Be Young video series, Cyrus revealed that she was filming the episode in South Africa while the 2018 Woolsey fire destroyed her home in Malibu. She explained that the trauma from that event resurfaced later as anxiety attacks involving a recurring vision of being strapped to a gurney.

“I was filming Black Mirror and while I was there, the Woolsey Fires happened in Malibu. And I was in South Africa but it was taking place in Malibu so it was just a real trip,” Cyrus explained.

“Probably two or three years after this happened I didn’t understand, but I would have this anxiety attack with a vision attached that I would be strapped down to a gurney.”

“So I would have these dreams anytime I would go to perform, and I thought that was just an anxious vision that made no sense," Cyrus continued.

She eventually realized that her anxious vision came from a particular Black Mirror moment which she filmed while the Woolsey Fire had burned her home to the ground.

"But actually as my house was burning down I was strapped to a gurney with my hands locked in handcuffs strapped to a bed.”

Cyrus also mentioned that she filmed the music video for On a Roll, a song performed by her character Ashley O in Black Mirror, the day after she found out her house had been destroyed.

"I found out that my house had burnt to the ground. This was the next day," she said, before adding, "The show must go on."

The music in the episode received attention online. Cyrus performed multiple songs as Ashley O, including On a Roll, a version of Nine Inch Nails' Head Like a Hole, which was released separately.

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What happened to Miley Cyrus's character in Black Mirror's Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too?

Miley Cyrus as Ashley O in Black Mirror season 5. The episode, part of the show's dark anthology, explores themes of exploitation and identity (Image via Netflix)

In the Black Mirror season 5 episode, Rachel Goggins, a quiet teenager dealing with the recent loss of her mother, is gifted an AI doll called Ashley Too for her birthday. The doll, modeled on pop star Ashley O, includes a snapshot of Ashley’s personality and voice. Rachel becomes attached to the doll, confiding in it and using it as a form of emotional support. Her older sister, Jack, is more skeptical and keeps her distance.

Meanwhile, Ashley O’s life is tightly controlled by her aunt and manager, Catherine, who administers medication to keep her compliant. Ashley secretly writes new songs as an act of rebellion. When Catherine discovers this, she poisons Ashley with an overdose, leaving her in a chemically-induced coma.

Catherine plans to launch a digital replacement called Ashley Eternal, created using Ashley’s brain data and performed via a motion-capture actor with a synthesized voice.

Rachel and Jack discover that the Ashley Too doll contains a full version of Ashley’s consciousness once they remove a limiting barrier. With the doll's help, they break into Ashley’s house while Catherine is away and find the real Ashley. When Ashley Too unplugs Ashley’s support machine, it turns out the machine was only keeping her unconscious. Ashley wakes up and escapes with Rachel and Jack.

They head to the Ashley Eternal launch event and crash it using their father’s pest control van. The real Ashley exposes her aunt’s scheme in front of the public. The episode ends with Ashley and Jack forming a band, performing underground rock music, while Rachel and the now punk-modified Ashley Too cheer them on.

Miley Cyrus’s portrayal of Ashley O in Black Mirror and her off-screen comments show how the fictional story connects with real-life industry experiences. The episode remains one of the more discussed entries in the series for its blend of celebrity culture and sci-fi narrative.