NEW YORK, April 28, 2008
Cyrus "Embarrassed" By Photo Spread
Images Some Deem Racy In Upcoming Vanity Fair; Pop Star Says She Thought They'd Be "Artistic"
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Play CBS Video Video Hannah Montana In Hot Water Miley Cyrus, the 15-year-old singer-actress, is apologizing to her fans and corporate parent Disney after a sexy photo shoot in Vanity Fair. Harry Smith talks to People magazine's Julie Dam.
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Cyrus arriving at CMT Awards in Nashville two weeks ago (AP Photo/Evan Agostini)
"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," Cyrus said Sunday in a statement through her publicist. "I never intended for any of this to happen and I apologize to my fans who I care so deeply about."
The photos, appearing in the upcoming issue of Vanity Fair, were taken by Leibovitz, a renowned celebrity photographer whose edgy, silver-toned portraits have included subjects such as Angelina Jolie, Scarlett Johansson and a naked, pregnant Demi Moore.
The Cyrus pictures accompany an interview with the 15-year-old pop star and her father, singer Billy Ray Cyrus. They include shots of the teen wrapped in what appears to be a satin bed sheet, looking over her shoulder with her back exposed.Photos: A Look At Miley Cyrus
The Disney Channel, which airs Cyrus' TV show "Hannah Montana," was also critical of Vanity Fair.
"Unfortunately, as the article suggests, a situation was created to deliberately manipulate a 15-year-old in order to sell magazines," a network statement said.
A phone message left for a Vanity Fair representative was not immediately returned Sunday night. But in a statement to the TV show "Entertainment Tonight," Vanity Fair defended its position.
"Miley's parents and/or minders were on the set all day," the magazine said. "Since the photo was taken digitally, they saw it on the shoot and everyone thought it was a beautiful and natural portrait of Miley."
In a caption released by Vanity Fair with the photo last week, Cyrus expressed her comfort with how the apparently topless picture turned out.
"I think it's really artsy," she told the magazine at the time. "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."
"Teenagers are putting far worse pictures on their MySpace and Facebook accounts every day," People magazine Senior Editor Julie Dam told Early Show co-anchor Harry Smith Monday. "These pictures are relatively tame."
"Her name is out there again," Dam added. "And honestly, she's apologized. She said she feels bad. Her fans are everything to her. She's kind of gotten ahead of this. And it's part of her image that she is clean. And she's innocent. And she's sweet."
A handful of borderline racy snapshots of a girl who appeared to be Cyrus have appeared on the Internet in recent months, including images of a girl posing in her underwear and bikini last week.
Cyrus is one of the biggest - and most G-rated - acts in the country and is often considered a role model for young girls. Her "Best of Both Worlds" tour sold out arenas, and her successful 3-D concert film collected $31.3 million in its opening weekend in February.
© MMVIII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Best-selling author Mitch Albom on his first nonfiction work since "Tuesdays with Morrie."
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See all 55 CommentsYou are a beautiful and talented young lady. I think the spread ws done very tastefully and you have niothing to be ashamed of. Keep your head high, there will always be people making derogatory comments, they are only petty people who are jealous of everyone else.
You are a beautiful and talented young lady. I saw nothing wrong with the photo spread. I think it was done very tastefully.
You are a beautiful and talented young lady. I saw nothing wrong with the photo spread. I think it was done very tastefully.
As for Miley. I don''t think it''s yet time to remove her from her home. You have an over-ambitious photographer who''s capable of fast-talking most adults, a teenager is a piece of cake. Sure the parents were onset, but given the world in which these people live I can see it as being quite easy in convincing them that this isn''t porn, but instead very creative material. It''s "artsy" as Miley had been told and at first believed until the whole country went all spaztic over this. Face it people, she may be "innocent" for now, but she doesn''t live in a innocent world and she is growing up. Just like Britney, just like Hilary. The bed sheet shot IS too mature for her age and for what she promotes through her work, but face it, it could have been worse. We could be seeing another Britney and Miley is definitely NOT another Britney.
Posted by FabSam300 at 07:20 PM : Apr 28, 2008
She''s your "romodel"? Perhaps you should seek out a teacher as a role model...BTW...If you looked at the pictures you would know that her parents were both there...
It''s interesting that most networks are referring to this as a Miley mistake and then commenting how clever Disney, Vanitly Fair and Leibovitz are. I have always thought that child pornography was illegal as well as improper.
In the meantime, the network with the number one show that promotes lying and cheating puts the pictures on primetime display.
I believe their thinking was: do the photo spread, get the MONEY, feign lack of knowledge about what Vanity Fair did, apologize to Disney & the public,
continue on with contracted employment, and hope no one cancels on them! If they do, adjust.
Personally, I don''t see how Disney or any ''family values'' type entity can continue employing Miley Cyrus after this photo shoot! If they do, they show that they AREN''T family values entities at all!
PIG.
And oh yeah, her daddy is a country music saint right?
Keep living in your little dreamworlds while trillions are wasted in Iraq and gas goes up to $5 gallon later this summer. I couldn''t care less or more about what the imaginary Disney virgin Hannah Montana wears or doesn''t wear. We''re all naked under our clothes made by semi-topless 10 year olds in Sumatra right? Oops, they aren''t the fakey Disney role models a-la-Britney and Hannah we are so concerned about are they?
You are missing something. This was an AL photo shoot. They trusted her to be "artsy." When your photographer is someone so famous, you tend to trust them.
Besides, there is nothing pornographic or vulgar about these photos.
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See all 55 Comments