Photo: Getty Images
So Miley Cyrus posed topless (backless?) for Vanity Fair, apparently neglected to inform her employers at Disney of the sure-to-be-shocking set-up and then back-tracked wildly when the news broke.
While this kind of behavior is obviously what I was calling for last week -- c'mon, Miley, if you're gonna write a tell-all at 15 (yes, still 15), you've gotta have something good to tell! -- I'm watching and waiting how lesbian lenswoman Annie Leibovitz (No. 36 on our 2008 Power List) is being set up as the fall guy:
A Disney spokeswoman, Patti McTeague, faulted Vanity Fair for the photo. "Unfortunately, as the article suggests, a situation was created to deliberately manipulate a 15-year-old in order to sell magazines," she said.
The article, written by Bruce Handy, seems to support that claim, quoting Ms. Cyrus as saying, "Annie took, like, a beautiful shot, and I thought it was really cool. That's what she wanted me to do, and you can't say no to Annie." She also said of the photo, "I think it's really artsy. It wasn't in a skanky way."
Ms. Cyrus had a different view in a prepared statement released on Sunday:
"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."
Beth Kseniak, a spokeswoman for both Vanity Fair magazine and Ms. Leibovitz said, "Miley's parents and/or minders were on the set all day. Since the photo was taken digitally, they saw it on the shoot and everyone thought it was a beautiful and natural portrait of Miley."
Let's not forget, of course, Miley's own artistic shots she posted online. I'm all for a girl doing what she wants, seriously. But it's not cool to leave the other ladies hanging out to dry just because your media machine's calculated risk blew up in your face!
INSTANT UPDATE: OMG, how did I miss this? Speaking of older women who love Miley, here she is with every gay icon ever. [Thanks Megan]
INSTANT UPDATE 2: Okay, yeah, actually? Billy Ray Cyrus being there the whole time somehow just makes this creepier. [Thanks Jessica]
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