Miley Cryus' twerk-filled performance on MTV's Video Music Awards saw the scantily-clad former "Hannah Montana" star move to the music — and then some — up against "Blurred Lines" hitmaker Robin Thicke. The routine, which featured lots of gyrations and one naughty foam finger, took the audience by surprise and shaped up to be one of entertainment's biggest talkers of the summer.
But while the steamy on-stage action at the VMAs surprised viewers, it didn't surprise Thicke's wife, Paula Patton. The actress stopped by TODAY Wednesday and gave her take on it.
"(Miley and Robin) rehearsed for three days, and Robin told me in advance," Patton said of the prep for the performance. "I've got to be honest with you: I don't know what people thought Miley was going to do — I mean, sit down and play piano?"
Patton knew better. In fact, the only part of the VMA spot that proved to be a jaw-dropper for her was the response it provoked in others.
"It was shocking to me," she explained. "You know what is so funny? He finished, and I was like, 'That was great! You guys killed it!' ... Woke up the next morning, it was like, I got all these texts, like, 'Praying for you,' 'Hey, I'm here for you.' I'm like, 'What?!'"
Apparently some people are just way out of touch with modern moves, according to the actress.
"I don't know if you guys have been to a club lately, but that's how girls dance at the club," she said. "My friends dance with him like that. It's just what they do."
And it doesn't bother her a bit.
"I want him to express himself however he feels, and he lets me do the same," Patton insisted.
To prove that point, she showed off some not-quite-Miley-like moves of her own — with TODAY's own Al Roker.
Check out the dance and other details in the clip, and see more from the star when her new film, "Baggage Claim," opens in theaters nationwide Sept. 27.