Singer Miley Cyrus Photo Is Beautiful in Vanity Fair, Photographer Says

Singer Miley Cyrus, pictured performing during the 21st Annual Kids’ Choice Awards in Los Angeles on March 29, 2008, says she is “embarrassed” by the Vanity Spread photos.

Photographer Annie Leibovitz s weighing in on her controversial Vanity Fair photograph of Miley Cyrus, in which the teenager appears to be topless, saying she finds the image “simple” and “beautiful.”

“I’m sorry that my portrait of Miley has been misinterpreted,” Leibovitz says in a statement issued Monday. “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 makeup, and I think it is very beautiful.”

After the image was leaked on the Internet over the weekend, Cyrus told People magazine, “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.”

Vanity Fair spokeswoman Beth Kseniak said of the photo: “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 Cyrus pictures accompany an interview with the 15-year-old pop star and her father, singer Billy Ray Cyrus. One photo in particular is causing the biggest stir: the teen idol is wrapped in what appears to be a satin bedsheet, looking over her shoulder with her back exposed.

The Disney Channel, which airs Cyrus’ TV show “Hannah Montana,” was also critical of Vanity Fair.
“Unfortunately, as the article suggests, a situation was created to deliberately manipulate a 15-year-old in order to sell magazines,” a network statement said.

In a caption released by Vanity Fair with the photo, Cyrus expressed her comfort with how the apparently topless picture turned out.

“I think it’s really artsy,” she told the magazine at the time. “It wasn’t in a skanky way. Annie took, like, a beautiful shot, and I thought that was really cool. That’s what she wanted me to do, and you can’t say no to Annie.”

A handful of borderline racy snapshots of a girl who appeared to be Cyrus have appeared on the Internet in recent months, including images of a girl posing in her underwear and bikini last week. In one shot, she’s draped over a young man.

Cyrus is one of the biggest - and most G-rated - acts in the country and is often considered a role model for young girls. Her “Best of Both Worlds” tour sold out arenas, and her successful 3-D concert film collected $31.3 million in its opening weekend in February.

Why is it that if the photographer is “professional” he can peddle porn, but if he is a regular joe that works at DCF or the local school it is illegal?

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