Justin Timberlake defended Miley Cyrus and her raunchy performance during the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards.

"It's the VMAs. What did you guys expect?" he said in his radio interview with New York's Fresh 102.7. "It's not like she did it at the Grammys."

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He referenced past artists whose performances were just as scrutinized, including Madonna's 1984 Like A Virgin act and Britney Spears' striptease during her 2000 set of Oops I Did It Again. Timberlake added that it's "not uncommon" for artists to perform in such a manner.

The singer also revealed that he adores the 20-year-old.

"I like her a lot," he said. "She's young she's letting everybody know she's growing up."

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Others didn't share the same feelings as Timberlake. Kelly Clarkson, for example, clearly wasn't impressed with the performance.

"Just saw a couple performances from the VMA's last night. 2 words.... #pitchystrippers," she tweeted on Monday.

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The Parents Television Council was not amused either and the group's Director of Public Policy, Dan Isett, released a statement saying the following:

"MTV has once again succeeded in marketing sexually charged messages to young children using former child stars and condom commercials -- while falsely rating this program as appropriate for kids as young as 14. This is unacceptable."

MSNBC's Morning Joe host Mika Brzezinski completely dissed the young star on air.

"The whole thing was cringe-worthy, but I feel bad for her. She is a mess," she said. "Someone needs to take care of her. Someone needs not to put her onstage and make a complete fool of herself. It was pathetic, desperate, sick. She's clearly disturbed. She doesn't look healthy."

Cyrus, on the other hand, doesn't seem bothered by the negative comments.

"Smilers! My VMA performance had 306.000 tweets per minute. That's more than the blackout or Superbowl!" she tweeted this week.

Tags: Miley Cyrus Justin Timberlake video music awards 2013