First announced back in May 2021, Bonfire of Teenagers was supposed to be released through BMG before that label dropped Morrissey in Nov. 2020. “The worst year of my life concludes with the best album of my life,”                                                   Morrissey wrote of the release, adding that he was unsigned and that the album is available to the “highest (or lowest) bidder.”In October, Morrissey proclaimed that Bonfire of Teenagers found a home at Capitol Records, and that the album would feature an all-star guest list that included Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Chad Smith and Flea, Iggy Pop, Andrew Watt, Josh Klinghoffer and, on the song “I Am Veronica,” Miley Cyrus. 

However, “Miley Cyrus now wants to be taken off the song ‘I Am Veronica’ for which she volunteered backing vocals almost two years ago,” Morrissey Central posted Saturday alongside a photo of Morrissey and Cyrus in the studio. “This comes at a time when Morrissey has disassociated himself with Capitol Records (Los Angeles), who control the hidden album Bonfire of Teenagers.”

While Morrissey didn’t say why Cyrus wants off the record, he has invited controversy in recent years leading up to his departure from BMG. In 2019, he claimed in an interview  that he isn’t racist because “everyone ultimately prefers their own race” and has been a public supporter of extreme right-wing politics in Britain. When Morrissey played a Las Vegas residency in 2020, his website stated that “there are no anti-social distancing or facial concealment rules in place” for the shows. 

Morrissey’s last album, I Am Not a Dog on a Chain, arrived in 2020.