Miley Cyrus told Dolly Parton 'I Need to Murder Hannah Montana'

Dolly Parton has expressed her concern for her goddaughter Miley Cyrus.

The 68-year-old country music star said that Cyrus is going to extreme lengths to shed her Disney image and revealed that the 21-year-old singer told her she needed "to murder Hannah Montana."

In an interview with The Sun Parton reportedly said: "'I think she felt she had to make that severe a change. And she obviously did.

"I'm hoping that she holds it in the road and doesn't do so many things that are that bizarre. I don't think the crowd would be so forgiving again if she did anything else that was really offensive. I don't want it to overshadow her talent."

"She tried her best to make that transition from Hannah Montana to be allowed to be Miley but people just would not have it. It reminded me of what happened to one of our great old stars of the past, Shirley Temple.

"As a little girl she was so great, but then she started to grow up. And people didn't want her to grow up. They got mad at her. Well, that's how everyone has been with Miley," she explained.

"I was very worried. I was holding my breath, hoping that people didn't totally crucify her. But she felt she had to make a place for herself in this pop world."

The veteran country singer also expressed her concerns about Cyrus's nonchalant attitude towards drugs.

The Wrecking Ball singer, who has been forced to postpone her US Bangerz tour until August after suffering an allergic reaction, has admitted to using marijuana and suggested she had tried cocaine.

Speaking to Rolling Stone magazine last year she said: "I think weed is the best drug on earth. One time I smoked a joint with peyote in it, and I saw a wolf howling at the moon." She added: "I really don't like coke. It's so gross and so dark."

Parton, however remains confident that of Cyrus's future.

"If she is as smart as I think she is, I think she'll make the right decisions," she said.