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Miley Cyrus Repudiates Vanity Fair Photo
by
findingDulcinea Staff
The young pop star originally approved the picture but now says she feels embarrassed by the racy photograph that will appear in June’s Vanity Fair magazine.
30-Second Summary
When Vanity Fair’s semi-topless photograph of “Hannah Montana” star Miley Cyrus was released, a spokesperson for Disney said, “a situation was created to deliberately manipulate a 15-year-old in order to sell magazines." Vanity Fair denies taking advantage of Cyrus in any way: "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.”
The photo shows Cyrus wrapped in a bedsheet but otherwise apparently topless, with her back exposed.
Annie Leibovitz, one of the most respected portrait photographers of the last 20 years, took the photograph. She has photographed numerous celebrities and political figures, and Cyrus anticipated that the session photos would be tasteful.
But bloggers, parents and the Disney Corporation are unhappy with the potential damage that has been done to Cyrus’s squeaky-clean reputation. One blogger suggests that parents should burn Hannah Montana paraphernalia in a “bonfire” because Cyrus is “heading down the path towards becoming a tramp.”
The incident is reminiscent of the displeasure and disappointment that arose when topless photos of “High School Musical” star Vanessa Hudgens surfaced. The 18-year-old star was similarly repentant, saying, “I want to apologize to my fans, whose support and trust means the world to me. I am embarrassed over this situation and regret having ever taken these photos.”
The photo shows Cyrus wrapped in a bedsheet but otherwise apparently topless, with her back exposed.
Annie Leibovitz, one of the most respected portrait photographers of the last 20 years, took the photograph. She has photographed numerous celebrities and political figures, and Cyrus anticipated that the session photos would be tasteful.
But bloggers, parents and the Disney Corporation are unhappy with the potential damage that has been done to Cyrus’s squeaky-clean reputation. One blogger suggests that parents should burn Hannah Montana paraphernalia in a “bonfire” because Cyrus is “heading down the path towards becoming a tramp.”
The incident is reminiscent of the displeasure and disappointment that arose when topless photos of “High School Musical” star Vanessa Hudgens surfaced. The 18-year-old star was similarly repentant, saying, “I want to apologize to my fans, whose support and trust means the world to me. I am embarrassed over this situation and regret having ever taken these photos.”
Headline Links: Revealing photo of Miley Cyrus causes uproar
“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," said 15-year-old actress and singer Miley Cyrus. “I never intended for any of this to happen and I apologize to my fans who I care so deeply about." Disney blames Vanity Fair for setting out to “deliberately manipulate a 15-year-old in order to sell magazines."
Source: ET Online
When previously interviewed by Bruce Handy of Vanity Fair about the picture that shows her clad only in a bedsheet, Cyrus said, “That's what she wanted me to do, and you can't say no to Annie." She added, “I think it's really artsy. It wasn't in a skanky way." Cyrus rapidly changed her mind about the photo, but not before Disney, who had no prior knowledge of the photographs, saw it on Entertainment Tonight.
Source: Huffington Post Blog
Reactions: Vanity Fair responds
Vanity Fair’s blog, On the Web, responded to the uproar by posting a video clip of Cyrus with Leibovitz, to demonstrate that the photo shoot was “actually a relaxed family event in one of the most picturesque settings imaginable: the green hills of Calabasas, California.” Vanity Fair also posted a behind-the-scenes picture gallery of the event that strongly suggests the young star and her family were in good spirits during the session.
Source: Vanity Fair
Opinion and Analysis: Photos bad for Cyrus’s and Disney’s image?
Lin Burress’s “Telling It Like It Is” blog grabbed media attention by suggesting that parents should use Hannah Montana memorabilia to make a “bonfire” since Miley Cyrus is “heading down the path towards becoming a tramp.”
Source: Telling It Like It Is Blog
Miley Cyrus is a big moneymaker for Disney, but much of that has depended on her squeaky-clean reputation. However, according to The New York Times, “It is doubtful that one photograph—especially one that is tame in the context of an Internet awash in nude photographs of other starlets—could dent the Hannah Montana machine, said several Wall Street analysts.”
Source: New York Times
James Poulos argues that, “our problem isn't honoring the sexual power of young women, it's in aggravating that power for the purposes of dishonoring it.” He says the worship of a young female body is not in itself wrong. Centuries before, a similar painting would be considered fine art, however we “live in a culture in which ‘worship’ seems to mean corrupting unceremoniously and kicking to the curb.”
Source: Postmodern Conservative Blog
Key Player: Annie Leibovitz
Annie Leibovitz is arguably one of the most famous photographers of our time, renowned for both her professional and personal portraits. The Brooklyn Museum was the first stop for a 200-picture retrospective, “Annie Leibovitz: A Photographer's Life, 1990–2005,” which then traveled to other museums around the country and was also published as a book.
Source: The Brooklyn Museum
Related Topic: Vanessa Hudgens scandal
In September 2007, naked pictures of Vanessa Hudgens, star of Disney’s “High School Musical” and its sequel, surfaced. The star said, "I want to apologize to my fans, whose support and trust means the world to me. I am embarrassed over this situation and regret having ever taken these photos.” According to her rep, the photographs were private and were accidentally leaked to the public. Disney seemed to accept Hudgens’s apology and kept her in the cast of “High School Musical 3.”
Source: People magazine
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