Last week, photos of Miley Cyrus surfaced in which she was playfully flashing her lime green bra (oh no, Hannah Montana wears a bra!). But now the tween star is stirring controversy again, this time for not wearing a bra (or a shirt, for that matter).
In photos for the June issue of Vanity Fair, taken by the renowned photographer Annie Leibovitz, the 15-year-old singer posed topless, though draped in a sheet, exposing her bare shoulders. Originally, Cyrus seemed pleased with the shots: In a caption running with the photo spread, she is quoted as saying, "I think it’s really artsy. It wasn’t in a skanky way. Annie took, like, a beautiful shot, and I thought that was really cool. That’s what she wanted me to do, and you can’t say no to Annie."
But now Cyrus is singing a different tune. In a statement released through her publicist, the singer says, "I took part in a photo shoot that was supposed to be ‘artistic’ and now, seeing the photographs and reading the story, I feel so embarrassed. I never intended for any of this to happen and I apologize to my fans who I care so deeply about."
Disney is claiming that Vanity Fair created a situation to"deliberately manipulate a 15-year-old in order to sell magazines."(Just to add, Disney would know a thing or two about using a15-year-old to sell a product, as Cyrus has been merchandised within aninch of her life. Hannah Montana ruffled hobo purse, anyone?) For their part, a Vanity Fairspokeswoman says Cyrus’ parents and/or minders were there for theentire shoot, which was done digitally, and the shots were approved ofon the spot. Leibovitz has also defended the photo saying, "Thephotograph is a simple, classic portrait, shot with very little makeup,and I think it is very beautiful."
But really, what’s the big deal? Last year, much racier shots of a Disney star (High School Musical’s Vanessa Hudgens) surfaced, and did that girl’s career disappear? Nope — she’s signed up for High School Musical 3.
What do you think, PopWatchers? Is Miley Cyrus’ career doomed? Are you returning your Hannah Montana tickets? Or is this just much ado about nothing?
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this is crazy! This are posed pictures done with evry intention to get more famous. Vanity Fair and Annie were very professional and showed her the pictures and she liked them! She should’ve just said she liked the pics because they were “artistic” but Disney is pressuring her to play victim. Her parents also knew and they were there too so dont be all now saying they didnt know…….
what’s the Bobby Kennedy story about? he was an interesting figure and that’s a great photo of him on the cover.
This has the stink of publicists all over it, from the original decision to have Annie do the photos to the statement in reaction to the real or manufactured outrage.
What people need to understand is, She’s just being Miley.
at the end of the day, vanity fair can’t be surprised that miley has retracted her initial positive response to the picture in question – she is 15 years old and at that age (no matter how together you have it), what makes us happy one day might make us miserable the next…maybe it has to do with all those raging hormones, lol.
I suspect she’s more concerned about just not looking attractive in that picture instead of it being a “racy” picture. She looks like a crack-ho in that photo.
Wh•re? No.
FAME WH*RE?
Definitely.
What’s the first thing Miley’s gonna say when she loses her virginity? “Get OFF of me dad, you’re crushing my cigarettes!”
I found the pictures to be disgusting, this is Miley Cyrus not Paris Hilton or Britney Spears. I can’t imagine Hannah Montana posing like this. What was going through Vanity Fair and how did they came up with this concept?
The people who should be embarrassed is Annie and Vanity Fair. Why would these usually talented people endorse such a ugly picture. Miley is a cute teenager, that picture makes her look tired and underfed. Has Annie’s talent slipped, or does she think Miley is working too much?
Gotta love the pre-emptive playing of the “victim” card by team Cyrus & Disney, even prior to the magazine with the offending pix being published. Guess they’re afraid of alienating all those soccer-moms out there. Think “chaste” sweetie! Chaste! Don’t PO the meal ticket!
If I blame anyone, it’s Miley’s parents. What were they thinking letting her pose for this shot? I also think the photo of Miley and her dad Billy Ray borders on sleazy.
It seems to me that people are losing sight of the fact that she’s 15! It’s kiddie porn, plain and simple. It’s not sweet and innocent, it’s designed to be provocative, and that’s just wrong when it involves a teenager, any teenager! Jodie Foster, Drew Barrymore, Brooke Shields, any teenager that’s been portrayed as sexy by the media has been victimized. That their careers have not been stalled, have even been helped by that victimization, is a sad commentary on our culture.
not a lot of makeup? look at her lips. she looks like a 5 year old putting on mom’s lipstick. not an attractive picture to begin with. regardless of that, I find the pictures to be pretty disgusting. even if they were artistic, why is a 15 year old girl doing this. no matter who the photographer is. no matter what. it doesn’t make sense. you would have thought that someone in the cyrus camp would have more sense than that…especially following past photo controversy
bottom line is that her parents were on the set, and if they (or she) felt uncomfortable with her posing half naked in a sheet, they could have put a stop to it.
not to mention the fact that the only other photo i’ve seen of the shoot was one of her , and her father, laying all over each other. fankly… the vibe’s just plain weird.
silent E: agreed. exactly
I agree with jslost. It isn’t that this photo is “racy” vs “artistic” vs “publicity stunt”. It is a REALLY BAD PHOTO of her. Miley does not look good in it. Not at all.
Silent E. No. Not correct. 15 is the age of consent. In fact, my mom’s generation was considered odd if they did NOT have a child by 17. So what, every young woman in history has been a victim? Come on – who is the “media” that is “portraying” her as sexy? Herself. She and her parents know what Vanity Fair is, she didn’t just come out from under a rock. If you pose for Rolling Stone you’re gonna be topless with hands on your boobs — if you pose for Vanity Fair you’ll be in a bed or a bath. Girl or Billy Ray never saw a magazine stand? Come on.
Artistic? No. Appropriate for her age? No.
The half-naked, draped in a blanket/sheet, over-the-shoulder coy look to camera grainy portrait image must be retired immediately. Please. Overdone and,in this case, not appropriate for a teen whose main appeal is to young girls already dealing with living in a society that has sexualised them at a younger and younger age.
Controversial? Yes. One squarely resulting in Vanity Fair magazine flying off the shelves and Miley’s name front and center.(One plus in this: the mag did put Robert Kennedy and not Miley on the cover).
As for whether Miley should have been posed like this? Where were everyone’s brains on the day? Did her parents think taking her top off for a shot was great idea? Miley, and her parents, probably loved taking part a shoot with Annie Lebovitz at the time, then thought “uh oh, how are we going to spin this?” days later. Gee what a shock.
StaleCake: No.Not correct. According to this website: http://www.coolnurse.com/consent.htm the age of consent is at least 16 for females in all states except South Carolina. Also, no, not all young women in history have been victims. I’m saying that it’s sad that her parents or handlers didn’t see a problem to begin with, that the magazine doesn’t consider it exploitive, and that our society is nonplussed about such things. I agree that her parents/handlers should be responsible, as any parents of 15 year olds should be. Age appropriate behavior has been rampantly declining for years, a fact I’ve never been more aware of now that I’ve got a 9 year old daughter of my own!
I think this is a lot different than the Vanessa Hudgens story. Although Miley is being very suggestive she’s not actually naked and that’s a pretty big difference. Also, I think Miley has been getting progressively less wholesome for a while now. Did you see her perform her second song on Idol? I don’t think anyone who’s not an exotic dancer should be moving like that on stage. As a girl in pop culture you’re not relevant unless you’re sexy, which is really sad. I understand that she feels that pressure, but my big problem is that she’s still claiming to be a role model for young girls. I think she needs to be pick a side.
I am no prude. I know that at 15 years old we ALL were sexual beings. But this Lolita naked-in-the-bed, tousle-haired, dreamy-eyed, over the shoulder pose is nothing more than jailbait sleaze. And the father-and-daughter as young lovers shot is not much better. This is a major blot on Leibovitz’s otherwise stellar career. Shame on Cyrus’s parents for not knowing better. Although judging from the first line of the VFair article, they’re allowing their under-aged daughter to watch Sex and the City, so I guess their idea of appropriateness is pretty warped already.
who thinks Vanity Fair is a sad, desperate magazine trying to create interest by creating a kiddie porn controversy ? show of hands?
also, VF, enough about the Kennedys. no one cares anymore but you
It was a mistake for her and her handlers to put out a statement saying she was embarrassed. They’re just fueling the fire unnecessarily by trying to comfort of couple of people and at that same time they are helping those who are trying to sell papers and get hits on their websites.
I’d rather the young girls of America see pop stars like this rather than one who slinks around like a slutty cheerleader singing “hit me baby one more time”. This story is being way out of proportion.
i think this picture is fine. im younger than her and my mom said she wouldnt mind if i had a pick like that. i feel bad for miley. she is saying sorry for things that she doesnt need to be saying sorry about. its totally wrong that people are making such a big deal about it. and it was Annie. who is gonna say no to Annie. and what is she gonna do. decline the job. i think everyone who is making a big deal about it is being soo stupid. email me if you wanna talk further about this. i would love to hear others opinions
Gotta take the side of “blame the parents on this one.” No part of that photo shoot or its results would have been a surprise to the Cyrus clan (you know, having been there).
The question is not whether Cyrus’ career will be over–of course it won’t be. That said, I think that Cyrus looks stupid when she puts out a picture that is so sexually suggestive. Of course it is inappropriate. Cyrus’ age becomes that much more apparent when she puts out those statements, which make her look as naive and clueless as any celebrity I’ve ever seen.
I’m a 20 something and I’m just so tired of seeing girls do this kind of thing younger and younger. At this rate 10 year olds are going to be sleeping around and drinking martinis as if they were 25. It’s too bad there’s no such thing as a childhood anymore.
StaleCake: your moms’ generation thought it odd if girls didn’t have babies by 17? How old ARE you??? 120?
Miley suggests,I’m sexy, but don’t touch!Shame on her parents for showing her off in such an inappropriate way. Don’t we have laws against kiddy porn in this country.