Miley Cyrus has said she IS Hannah Montana and revealed she would have posters of Zac Efron on her wall "if he wasn't a friend".
Speaking to the Access Hollywood TV show, Miley, 17, defended her raunchier new image.
"People can't say I'm leaving Hannah Montana behind, I am Hannah Montana," she said.
"It was my morals, my message, me telling girls to live their dream. That was me, not Hannah."
She said it was harder for girls to change their image because people presume they are selling sex.
She said Efron "has a special place in her heart" despite dating Aussie actor Liam Hemsworth.
"Look at Zac Efron. What's he selling? He's hot, I'll go to see him in a movie," she said.
"Liam's hot too, but Zac has a special place in my heart.
"If he weren't a friend I'd have posters of him on my wall."
Defending her new video for the single Can't Be Tamed – after accusations it is too raunchy for her fans – she said: "It's just what I thought the song said to me, that's the look."