Miley Cyrus "Embarrassed" by Racy Photos
Miley Cyrus by Steve Granitz/WireImage.com
Teen sensation
Miley Cyrus has apologized to her fans for a series of provocative photos, some of which surfaced on the Internet earlier this week and others taken for
Vanity Fair, in which the 15-year-old singer appears to be nude.
The Disney Channel star was criticized earlier in the week when a series of racy photos featuring Cyrus lying with her boyfriend with her midriff revealed were leaked onto the Web. (They're of the mildly skanky, but ultimately harmless, MySpace variety, so no link for you!)
The
Vanity Fair photos, which are in the issue hitting newsstands this week, were taken by renowned photographer Annie Leibovitz and picture Cyrus wrapped with a blanket in a way that makes the singer/actress appear to be topless.
Vanity Fair's own
slideshow of the shoot shows that both of Miley's parents were present, although
ET dug up some
screenshots that indicate that the photos' risqué qualities might have come out in the editing.
Cyrus addressed both sets of photos in
a statement to People, saying, "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."
The Disney Channel, which broadcasts Cyrus'
Hannah Montana, said in a separate statement that Cyrus was clothed beneath the blanket, but that the magazine "deliberately [manipulated] a 15-year-old in order to sell magazines."
Cyrus said she will learn from the experience and that she hopes her fans understand that "along the way I am going to make mistakes. I am truly sorry if I have disappointed anyone."
On
Today this morning, ad guru Donny Deutsch and humorist Nancy Giles asked if Cyrus,
Vanity Fair or both had gone too far. Watch the vid and then post your comments below.
So what do you think? Was Miley "manipulated"? Or were we? -
Adam Bryant
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Is Miley Pulling a (Milder) Vanessa Hudgens?
