Miley, daughter of Billy Ray
Cyrus - '90s country singer who gave us Achy Breaky Heart then went MIA until
landing the role as his daughter's father in Hannah Montana, is a singer-actress
whose concert movie grossed a cool $65 million this year.
But, some say her publicity stunt
with Vanity Fair may have cost her a good portion of that in young viewers (9-15)
this past month after pre-released images from the shoot have been circulating
online. Captured in a bare-backed, Lolita-like, frail-looking pose by world-renown
photographer Annie Leibovitz for the June issue of the magazine, Miley has been
embroiled in a media frenzy.
Wrapped in a satin bed sheet with
an incredible pale complexion and subdued pose, the media has branded Miley as everything
from Britney’s protégée to a soon to be cracked former Disney star like Lindsay
Lohan.
Splashed across the front of The New York Post and other large
metropolitan daily papers, she has been credited with forsaking her Christian
values just like preacher’s daughters Jessica and Ashley Simpson.
The Christian Coalition of
America (CCA) are asking The Disney Channel - who broadcast 'Hannah Montana' -
to reprimand Miley for agreeing to the provocative shots and are asking for an
apology.
She did just that a few days after the pictures surfaced. The singer told
PEOPLE Magazine: "My goal in my music and my acting is always to make
people happy…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."
But, with muck-raking in our
blood, we couldn’t stop there. Nooo. We had to dredge up and leak home photos
of her laying across the lap of one of the Jonas brothers, which prompted
another apology from Miley.
"The pictures of me on the
Internet were silly, inappropriate shots. I appreciate all the support of my
fans, and hope they understand that along the way I am going to make mistakes
and I am not perfect... I will learn from my mistakes and trust my support
team. My family and my faith will guide me through my life's journey."
As gracious as she has been
throughout this ordeal, the whole din still seems pointless.
Miley’s candid internet shots
depict teenage MySpace fun – typical of any teenager in America right now. But,
the excessive blogging, letter-writing and apology-prompting about this
still-very-young TV sensation is reflective of a deeper matter – a human’s
search for purity, chastity and truth within fallible models in society.
As naďve as it may have been for
Miley to pose in an “artistic” yet entirely too risqué for her audience photo shoot, it is just as naďve for people
to believe that a TV personality has a closet full of Downy fresh, billowy white laundry.
We’re people, people. We fall
down and we get back up again.