News & Politics - Miley Cyrus "Vanity Fair" Photo Controversy

LaraCroft01 · 04-29-2008, 01:10 PM

There has bee a swirl of controversy surrounding Miley Cyrus decision to pose for Vanity Fair wearing nothing but a bed sheet at the age of 15. Here are several articles about it.

The photo in question:

The caption with the picture: Um, was Cyrus—or Disney—at all anxious about this shot? “No, I mean I had a big blanket on. And I thought, This looks pretty, and really natural. I think it’s really artsy.” Photograph by Annie Leibovitz; styled by Michael Roberts.

She's saying another story now:

From here

Quote:

Miley Cyrus 'Embarrassed' by Controversial Photos

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Miley Cyrus is taking issue with a photo of herself that's going around, and it's not another amateur, truth-or-dare Internet snapshot - it's the handiwork of Annie Leibovitz.

"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."

From here

Quote:

Annie Leibovitz defends her portrait

"I'm sorry that my portrait of Miley has been misinterpreted," she said in a statement. "Miley and I looked at fashion photographs together, and we discussed the picture in that context before we shot it.

"The photograph is a simple, classic portrait, shot with very little make-up, and I think it is very beautiful."

Cyrus is the wholesome 15-year-old star of Disney Channel show Hannah Montana, and is considered to be a role model for young girls.

From here

Quote:

Disney, Miley Cyrus blast Vanity Fair magazine over R-rated photos

G-rated princess Miley Cyrus and Disney are fuming over the Hannah Montana star's R-rated photo spread in Vanity Fair, blasting the magazine for exploiting an underage girl to sell copies.

The 15-year-old, who plays kid-friendly Hannah on the Disney Channel is stunned by the topless shots taken by famed photographer Annie Leibovitz.

"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," Miley said in a statement.

"I never intended for any of this to happen and I apologize to my fans who I care so deeply about," said the teen, who is considered a role model to girls.

At the Vanity Fair photo shoot, "a situation was created to deliberately manipulate a 15-year-old in order to sell magazines," a Disney spokesman said.

Leibovitz, 58, took the photograph for the glossy's May 6 edition. Miley appears topless, wrapped in a satin bed sheet, looking over her shoulder with her back exposed.

The adolescent, who has raked in millions of dollars being the straight-laced idol for screaming teens who have packed her concerts, said the provocative poses don't fit her clean teen image.

"My goal in my music and my acting is always to make people happy," said Miley, daughter of country singer Billy Ray Cyrus. "

The brunette starlet is bringing in an estimated $1 billion a year for the Walt Disney Company.

Leibovitz said in a statement yesterday that the young actress wasn't duped into doing anything.

"I'm sorry that my portrait of Miley has been misinterpreted," the photog said. "The photograph is a simple, classic portrait, shot with very little makeup, and I think it is very beautiful."

Vanity Fair editors defended themselves too, insisting the photos are "beautiful and natural" and that they did not deceive the minor Miley. They noted that her parents or minders were on the set every day - and noted her dad posed with her at one point.

A source close to Miley told People magazine that her parents left before the topless shot was taken.

"Miley's grandmother and her teacher were there when she shot it. Annie convinced them it was going to be artistic," the source said. "Her parents are mortified. They know this is a learning moment for Miley."

The racy photo came a week after other revealing images of Miley surfaced on the Internet.

One shows her with an exposed midriff cuddling with her then-boyfriend, and in another she's pulling down her top to flash a green bra.

Fox commentator Bill O'Reilly had slammed Miley's parents and Disney for not putting the breaks on such racy images.

The brouhaha has some worried Miley is on the downward spiral of other children stars-turned-tramps like Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan - both of whom were Disney child stars who later wound up busted for DUI and in rehab after appearing in provocative pictures.

Readers on NYDailyNews.com said they were shocked by the Vanity Fair's pushing of the nudie envelope with a minor.

"Bet on Miley getting offers from Playboy and Hustler the moment she turns 18," wrote one commenter called "DMV."

Another wrote: "Shouldn't the photographer be arrested? Making a kid pose in RACY postions and now selling them?

Commenter "3Strikes" agreed: "At 15 Vanity Fair should be charged in child pornagraphy and the parents should be held accountable as well."

From here

Quote:

Fans split on Miley Cyrus photo for Vanity Fair

Hannah Montana may have fallen off her pedestal when alter ego Miley Cyrus posed semi nude for Vanity Fair, but she parachuted a safe distance from the scandal ridden world of Lindsey Lohan and Britney Spears.

Still, parents, grandparents, and even a teen-age big sister are a little ticked that the wholesome Polly Purebread image of Disney's biggest star has been tainted.
And as a result, they say, so will the minds of their beloved youngsters.

"I just think it sends a poor message to young girls," said Barbara Chane of West Palm Beach.

"It makes them wanna be too grown up at their young age," added Betsey Bouarnick, also of West Palm Beach.

Chane and Bouarnick are grandmothers to the same 6- and 11-year-old girls, both huge fans of Hannah Montana.

Cyrus posed for Vanity Fair photographer Annie Liebovitz for a story in the June issue of the magazine, which will hit newsstands next week.

The 15-year-old millionaire actress and pop singer is shown topless, covered by what appears to be a white blanket. Her bare back is exposed.

More than 3 million viewers regularly watch Hannah Montana, most from 6 to 14. The show has been touted as one of the few programs parents can let their children watch with no qualms.

The character is so popular, she's spawned a franchise that includes a line of clothing wear, make-up, and shoes. Cyrus' Best of Both Worlds music tour sold out last year and she's got a movie coming out next year. And last week, she signed a seven-figure book deal.

That speaks volumes about her appeal to the young and impressionable.

"My sister is crazy about that little girl," says 18-year-old Tiara Murdaugh who works at the CityPlace Starbucks. "She's going to think it's OK for all young girls to pose semi-nude. She already wants to be 25."

Murdaugh says Cyrus should have have given the pose more thought.

"I'm 18, and I wouldn't do it."

Although she now says she's embarrassed by the photo and has apologized to her fans, Cyrus initially had no problem with the pose.

"I think it's really artsy," Cyrus said to Vanity Fair Deputy Editor Bruce Handy, who wrote the feature for the magazine. "It wasn't in a skanky way.... And you can't say no to Annie."

There are others also asking, Where's the skank?

"It's a back shot. It's not pornographic. You see more in a swimsuit," says Stephen Wallace of Palm Beach, uncle to a 5-year-old niece who is a Hannah Montana fan.

Wallace says the "controversy" surrounding the photo is much ado about nothing.

"It's not the responsibility of Hannah Montana to instill values in children, it's the responsibility of the parents," he said.

Is this, as some speculate, Cyrus' first step on the road to the girls-gone-wild lifestyles of actress Lindsey Lohan and singer Britney Spears, teen stars who spiraled out of control?

Cyrus doesn't think so. She told Handy that she trusts her parents to keep her on track.

Besides, Britney and Lindsey, she said, are more normal than we think.

"If you went to most high schools, I could point out Britneys and Lindsays," said Cyrus. "... I know those people, and I know they have good hearts and they're struggling."

It's a struggle, normal or not, most parents don't want to see their daughters go through.

Teri Carignan says that while she passes no moral judgment on Cyrus and has raised her 14-year-old daughter and 17-year-old son to be open-minded - "to each his own" - there's no way her daughter would pose for a semi-nude picture.

"There's double standards for my daughter," she says. "She's my baby girl."

A Commentary About It:

From here

Quote:

Shame on you Annie Leibovitz, Carter – and Miley Cyrus's parents

It is inconceivable that Annie Leibovitz was taken aback by the outraged response to her shoot of a half-naked, smudge-lipsticked, knowing-eyed 15-year-old Miley Cyrus. Leibovitz is an exceptionally calculated image-maker, who said recently she uses nudity to “create an instant intimacy” between subject and viewer.

One can believe Cyrus’s description of Leibovitz’s persuasive powers in the studio, pushing the young actress – fame-hungry and flattered to pose for the world’s most famous photographer for a magazine such as Vanity Fair – into ever more risqué poses. “You can’t say no to Annie,” Miley said. “She’s so cute. She gets this puppy-dog look, and you’re like, OK.”

Indeed, Leibovitz used the trick dirty-old-men artists have employed to seduce vulnerable girls through the ages: she persuaded Miley that the pictures were “artistic”. But this is no celebration of young beauty. It is a blatant bedroom shot. Leibovitz saw the shock potential, the lip-smacking titillation, in posing a star known for her wholesome, girlish role in Disney’s Hannah Montana as if photographed by her deflowering first boyfriend.

What is more cynical is the decision by Vanity Fair’s supposed high-moralist Graydon Carter to publish the pictures. He saw their potential in selling his magazine’s special teen issue, since the chief excitement surrounding girl-women such as Cyrus concerns their entry on to the sexual marketplace. Years ago a website even ticked off the days and hours until the moment Britney Spears was “legal”.

It is the madness of Britney, and the drug problems and food disorders of Lindsay Lohan – both were also preteen Disney stars – that should prey upon the consciences of Leibovitz, Carter and Miley’s parents, who attended the shoot. Miley should be guided with care and respect into the adult stage of her career (if that’s what she wants), bypassing the money and headline-making phase of ravaged Lolita.

What are everyone's thoughts on it? Is it being made to big of a deal of? Is it "artistic" or to racy given Miley Cyrus age? Should parents be up in arms over it?

**sunnykerr** · 04-29-2008, 04:11 PM

Yeah, I've heard a lot about this and, I have to admit, I don't really get it.

Yeah, she's 15. And, of course, we don't want her to grow up to be a Britney Spears.

But, from what I gather, her grandmother was there at the time. So this is hardly abuse. I mean, she had an adult advocate, if you will.

And, yeah, 15 is young for a "racy" picture... but, please. The only way this is sexually provocative is if the person looking at it is looking at it to be sexually provocative.

I do get that Disney is possibly the most conservative entertainment company nut run by a religious organization. So I can see why this picture wouldn't be okay with them. Which means I can also see why Miss Cyrus rushed to denounce them. Heck, for all I know, she was truly and genuinely appalled by them (though, considering she was there when they were taken...).

But, for me, at the end of the day... this is art. Not necessarily great art, but it's certainly not about sexual titillation or provocation.

**TheAngel** · 04-29-2008, 05:24 PM

Hmm, Iraq war must be over since this has been on every news and radio program. It's nice to know Bush got his act together and pulled out the troops.

*Ledi* · 04-29-2008, 06:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheAngel (View Post)

Hmm, Iraq war must be over since this has been on every news and radio program. It's nice to know Bush got his act together and pulled out the troops.

Seriously. I am so tired of hearing about this. It's just not that important. Or maybe I'm the only one that doesn't care about this girl's life.

~Unfaithful~ · 04-29-2008, 06:56 PM

I don't see what the big deal is . The photo is done very tastefully. You can't see anything and I just don't see it as racy.

Lain · 04-29-2008, 07:52 PM

I don't see what's wrong with it honestly. I mean, concept wise. It almost reminds me of medieval paintings for some reason.

Quote:

"It's not the responsibility of Hannah Montana to instill values in children, it's the responsibility of the parents," he said.

And it's sad that a lot of parents still don't grab on to the concept.

Ruby_Slippers · 04-29-2008, 09:10 PM

I don't see anything wrong with it.

vc318 · 04-29-2008, 09:30 PM

See, this is exactly what happened to Britney. Since her Mickey Mouse Days, she was viewed as the supposed "good girl" and "role model" for all young ladies out there. It's probably partially why her life has gone in the direction it has now. And now it's happening to Miley. Key word - PEER PRESSURE. Why is this even in the news?! Quite frankly, as long as an adult was with her who cares about these photos?! We've got BIGGER and MORE IMPORTANT things going on in the world than this. In the end, millions of dedicated fans will still love her no matter what.

LaraCroft01 · 04-29-2008, 10:31 PM

I understand that this isn't the most important thing going on in the world, but it's still in the news, she's extremely famous, a role model and I was just curious to see what other FF posters thought of the controversy. As usual the press is blowing it to a bigger deal then it is, and ignoring Iraq. What else is new?

If you don't care then why come here and say so?

sunnykerr I agree in part with what you are saying, but I think the picture is suggestive when you see her hair tussled and her lipstick smeared.

~+Yamiko ITA some parents need to understand that concept of being a role model for there children.

*Ledi* · 04-30-2008, 01:02 AM

I have no problem with this thread, and I doubt TheAngel does either. What I meant was that this "issue" is getting way too much coverage when it really shouldn't.

*Ledi* · 04-30-2008, 01:11 AM

Double post.

LaraCroft01 · 04-30-2008, 01:58 AM

I'm sorry if that came off as rude, I didn't mean it to be I just don't understand why people come to threads to say they do not care about something. I think I somewhat misunderstood what you were saying before. I do agree with what you are saying - it is getting more media coverage then necessary - I'm so use to that from the "news".

*Ledi* · 04-30-2008, 03:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LaraCroft01 (View Post)

I'm sorry if that came off as rude, I didn't mean it to be I just don't understand why people come to threads to say they do not care about something. I think I somewhat misunderstood what you were saying before. I do agree with what you are saying - it is getting more media coverage then necessary - I'm so use to that from the "news".

No, I completely understand and I feel the same way. I can also see how our posts could have been misunderstood. But yeah, the more threads/posts on this forum, the better!

It basically seems like this is being covered by everything out there, and I find it really ridiculous. Seriously, who cares if she decided to do this? Especially if her parents (? I think that's what I heard) were there when it took place. If they are all OK with it, I don't see why we should care.

vc318 · 04-30-2008, 04:38 AM

LaraCroft01, I think your post is a good topic to discuss about. I just think the media takes too many things out f context, you know? I'm sorry if you felt offended by the posts.

**TheAngel** · 04-30-2008, 04:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LaraCroft01 (View Post)

I'm sorry if that came off as rude, I didn't mean it to be I just don't understand why people come to threads to say they do not care about something. I think I somewhat misunderstood what you were saying before. I do agree with what you are saying - it is getting more media coverage then necessary - I'm so use to that from the "news".

My point was not to come here saying that I didn't care (which I don't, but that's besides the point) but to come here and make a comment about the state of American news media. Sorry if I hurt your feelings or offended you but I didn't realize you took the issue so personally.
To be honest, I don't see the big deal about the pictures. I've seen more exposed skin on Fox before 8pm. How many kids that are Disney Channel age read Vanity Fair? Probably not that many would have even seen the picture if not for the media and it being plastered on every news show, internet browser, and grocery store checkout lane rag.


Fan Forum > General Discussion > News & Politics > Miley Cyrus "Vanity Fair" Photo Controversy