Miley Cyrus might not seem like the best role model at the moment, but the "Wrecking Ball" singer tells the new issue of Rolling Stone that she does have someone she considers to be a mentee: Justin Bieber.
"I'm not that much older than him, so I never want it to feel like I'm mentoring him," she told the magazine. "But I do mentor him in a way. Because I've been doing this sh-t for a long time, and I already transitioned, and I don't think he's quite done it yet."
Cyrus, 20, is just one year older than Bieber, 19, but the former child star insists that the "Believe" singer still has a long way to go before he's a full-fledged artist.
"He's trying really hard," she said. "People don't take him seriously, but he really can play the drums, he really can play the guitar, he really can sing. I just don't want to see him f–k that up, to where people think he's Vanilla Ice. I tell him that."
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According to Cyrus, part of Bieber's growing pains stem from the fact that he's a "boy," and therefore, still not quite mature enough to deal with the difficulties of the limelight. Namely, Cyrus explained, how to avoid being perceived as a "joke."
"I think boys are, like, seven years behind," she said with a laugh. "So in his head, he's really, like, 12."
Cyrus, who went topless (with tongue out, of course) for the provocative magazine cover, also spoke about her kinship with an older, more seasoned performer: Kanye West.
"Kanye is the s–t," she said. "I kind of have a good relationship with him now. It's good to have someone you can call and be like, 'Yo, do you think I should wear this?' 'Do you think I should go in the studio with this guy?' 'Do you think this is cool?' That's what homes are supposed to do."
