Miley Cyrus faces wrath of giant-finger creator

Attention, Miley Cyrus: The inventor of the giant "We're No. 1" finger is so not happy with you right now.

Fox News reports that Steve Chmelar, who created the original version of the now-ubiquitous fan accessory in 1971 to support his Iowa high school basketball team, is not pleased with the way Cyrus used his invention as a phallic symbol during her controversial dance with Robin Thicke at Sunday's VMAs.

"She took an honorable icon that is seen in sporting venues everywhere and degraded it," Chmelar, 59, told Fox News.

However, the VP of commercial sales at a construction supply company is staying positive. "Fortunately, the foam finger has been around long enough that it will survive this incident. As for Miley Cyrus, let's hope she can outlive this event and also survive."

Chmelar's original finger was made of papier-mache and hardware cloth, but it inspired Geral Foss to create a foam version that was first sold at the 1978 Cotton Bowl game between Notre Dame and Texas. The giant fingers have been staples at sporting events ever since.