No need to apologize, Miley. We understand.
By Barry Garron
It pained me to hear that Miley Cyrus, tween superstar and hero of Disney Channel's "Hannah Montana," had apologized for the photo she posed for in the June issue of Vanity Fair. I wanted to reach out, put my arms around her (in a consoling way, of course) and say, "Miley, it wasn't your fault. You have nothing to be sorry for."
The picture (left) was taken by photographer Annie Liebovitz who is famous for her controversial cover shots of a nude John Lennon and Yoko Ono and a very pregnant Demi Moore. This time, Liebovitz snared another celebrity into her wide angle web. Before Miley could even know what was happening, she was showing off her naked back and clutching a blanket in front to preserve a shred of her modesty.
"Unfortunately," said a statement from the Disney Channel, "as the article suggests, a situation was created to deliberately manipulate a 15-year-old in order to sell magazines."
Sadly, a few cynics scoffed. Wrote one visitor to the USA Today web site, "It's almost as bad as a multinational corporation manipulating a 15-year-old to sell CD's, movies, concert tickets, toys and merchandise."
But, really, how could young Miley realize she was entrusting her wholesome image to a prurient smut peddler? All she knew was that the magazine was paying her $1 million to look straight ahead and smile. Who could guess that they would want something, well, attention-getting? These days, that's just snapshot money.
And, yes, it is true that Miley's mother and father were both there, plus a few other members of her entourage. Vanity Fair said none of them objected to the shot. This only means that not only did the magazine take advantage of Miley but she might also be a victim of child neglect.
Liebovitz offered this explanation for the perverted pose: "Miley and I looked at fashion photographs together and we discussed the picture in that context before we shot it." Sure, pass the buck. Like there was any chance Miley could resist. As the easy-to-manipulate 15-year-old recalled, "(Liebovitz is) so cute. She gets this puppy-dog look and you're like, 'OK.' "
In the end, though, Miley is the one who suffers. After working so hard to cultivate a puritanical, impossibly wholesome, implausibly religious image -- and overcoming Internet photos to the contrary (right) -- she now has to beg forgiveness from all those people who are offended by the site of a bare back.
"I feel so embarrassed. I never intended for any of this to happen," she said."I apologize to my fans who I care so deeply about."
No, no, Miley. Don't even think such a thing. It's not your fault that society and parents and evil photographers let you down. Let's just pray it never happens again.
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