Miley Cyrus in Vanity Fair

[mjs1973]

Has anyone else been following this story?

It seems like Annie Leibovits has gone and done it again. Her photos of Miley Cyrus in Vanity Fair have started a controversy. Some people are calling it "kiddie porn". It was discussed on the Today Show yesterday, and on NPR's Talk of the Nation today. I didn't see the today show segment, but I did hear the NPR discussion. I was a little surprised to hear the guest, Lenore Skenazy blamed everyone except Miley for the photographs.

What seems to have a lot of people upset is that Miley has a squeaky clean image, and is someone their children can look up to. Now they are saying that this photo tarnishes that image.

Does it matter that the images are for a magazine geared towards adults, and not towards Miley's fans?

I find it all a little amusing myself. I'm not a Miley fan, and I don't have kids that look up to her, so I really don't care what she does.

[Greg McCary]

Amusing yes, but she is only 15. I don't really care either. But, I really think the parents should have thought it out more before letting it happen. I have always been a fan of Annie's work but I feel she could have certainly done better than what she did here.

[Frog]

A local radio talk show host had a California judge on today saying Annie and Miley's parents might be facing criminal charges for using an under age child in photos that would arouse prurient interest.
I don't think its silly for people to complain. I had no problem with Annie's queen photos but photographing a 15 year old girl in this fashion is not cool. Annie and her parents are using her to suck money.
Other photos were also bothersome, especially the one of her on her father's lap.

[Tyson L. Sparks]

I think they got the reaction they wanted out of this photo shoot. It would be silly to think these photos would go unnoticed. I have a 14 yo daughter that is a Miley fan, she hasn't seen the photos yet. My daughter has a myspae page that I watch very very close. Some of my daughter's friends post self portraits that are worse than what was shown in Vanity Fair.

Today's parents have their heads up their back sides and are letting their kids get away with this crap. My daughter has shown me some of her friends in 2 piece swim suits and bras on myspace. Like I said previously I keep a very close eye on my daughter's page, I don't let her post any questionable pictures. Even vacation beach pictures are a no no.

It all comes down to how a child is raised.

In Rangefinder magazine there was an article about photography and under age nudity. Like the pictures of the new born in a bath and such. The times we live in force us all to look through the eyes of a pedofile, every time we turn the news on there is a story of a child rape case. A simple snapshot sent a 72 year old Grandmother to jail and now she is a registered sex offender. Sometimes these things can be taken too far!

It's all about interpretation.

[Dave Smith]

As has been stated, Miley Cyrus is an icon of youngsters.

I find it sad that her parents have chosen to transition her to more "adult" entertainment. I would think that it would make it hard to explain to children (such as Tyson has) a rationale as to why they can not wear ... dress ... pose ... act like Miley.

I may be an old fool, but I am sorry that her "childhood" has been taken from her and that she has been thrust into "adulthood" so soon.

Oh well ... just my opinion.

[xystren]

People forget that people have lives outside of the characters they play in the entertainment field. I seem to recall similar reactions with Lindsay Lohan a number of years ago. So am I surprised by the outcry? No not really.

I'm not sure, but still being 15 years old, the pictures do seem to be more provocative rather than glamorous. But that's my humble opinion. They wouldn't have been taken with my 15yr old daughter.

And the first picture on the link, with her dad..... Just kinda creeps me out..

[hollis]

I dont get what all the buzz is about :idea:
I think its a nice portraite.

Now the photos posted on her myspace page were much more provocative

she'll be in rehab before she is 21

where is the Mother in all this?
we already know her Achey Breaky Father is a mulletized dim wit

[JSPhoto]

Hollis, her mother was right there too, she's even in a photo. I don't know what the big deal is, other than the people here in the US are just too dang uptight about how poses are or nudity. And if you are I'd suggest not going on a trip outside the US. You'd probably have a coronary if you went to a beach or even a public pool wher the females may be topless.... all ages.

Funny though the most uptight anti-nudity country in the world leads the world in teen and pre-teen pregnancy.

[Frog]

It'll be a cold day in Hell before any 15 year old daughter of mine would do provacative poses for publication or anywhere else.

[mjs1973]

And the first picture on the link, with her dad..... Just kinda creeps me out..

I'm glad I'm not the only one. To me, this image shows a romantic love between the two, not a father/daughter kind of love.

I took a similar photo to this with a brother & sister. I think it's a cute image, but I get a bit of the same sense that I get from the pic of Miley and Billy Ray. A little creepy.

[MB1]

It'll be a cold day in Hell before any 15 year old daughter of mine would do provacative poses for publication or anywhere else.

D@rn, and I was just about to ask....

BTW re:Miley Cyrus Photos; I find the whole thing sad but suspect all parties involved knew exactly what they were doing. Dad is no dummy, amoral perhaps but his generational success in show business is built on titillation and no doubt he is passing on the knowledge to his child. As to how this will end up, I'll note that there have been some sucessful transitions from pre-teen idol to adult star without turning into a complete train wreck (i.e.Jessica Simpson) but that is the exception rather than the rule.

[adina]

I posted about this on another forum, let me go and copy/paste it....

[adina]

This is my response to the outrage....


Wasn't this shoot supposed to be a "look, I'm not just for kids" kind of thing anyway? How many 5-13 year olds read Vanity Fair? Isn't that her main audience, kids, specifically girls, that age? If this was done to promote her Hanana Montana crap, Vanity Fair is not the magazine to do it in, it doesn't take a lot of brain work to figure that out. Posing for Vanity Fair was to appeal to a older audience. So that's what Annie shot for.

Is it right? I don't know, all we are hearing is the fallout. Suppose everyone had oooohhhed and ahhhed over these images, would she be issuing an apology saying she didn't know what was going on? I doubt it.

Like I said, Vanity Fair's main concern is selling magazines. Vanity Fair is AL's client.

The Cyrus's didn't just fall off of the turnip truck. They must know that Hanah Montana is a limited deal. I mean, come on, how long can she do that? Until she's 18? 21? 30? Nope, she's got maybe a few years left, before Disney boots her and brings in the next cute kid. If Miley Cyrus is going to have any kind of career after that, they need to project a more grown up image of her. I think this just backfired on them.

They are celebrities, they don't think like normal people.

[freygr]

I looked at the online photos, I didn't think that they were out of line. Heck I'm seen girls in clothing that was more provocative walking down the street, than the photos on line - clothing two sizes to small, pants and t shirt and you could see every thing!

[f5fstop]

I dontDON'T get what all the buzz is about :idea:
I think its a nice portraitePORTRAIT.

Now the photos posted on her myspace page were much more provocative

she'll be in rehab before she is 21

where is the Mother in all this?
we already know her Achey Breaky Father is a mulletized dim wit

"WE?" 'We' implies you mean all of us, and that is not correct. I used to live in Thompson Station TN and Billy is not a dim wit. He might be pushing the limit, but he is not stupid. :mad2: Or do you just assume that everyone who lives in TN, the south or are active in country music are dim wits?
Just think if I made an assumption that everyone who can't spell is a dim wit. Would that be correct?
I'll stop here out of respect for PJ.

[Sebastian]

This has got to be the most overblown "controversy" yet this year.

I saw the photo of her and her dad. Looked to me like a stylized photo of a girl. With her dad. THE HORROR.

I have rested in my dad's lap like that when I was a child. Same with my mom's and other close family members. No one thinks they're pedophiles.

But I forget, I'm a European with no morals. How could I have them? In Europe they have racy ads after all! And nudity! Yet somehow I've never cheated on a partner, robbed, embezzled or even drank to the point of getting close to drunk. And you know what? My parents teaching me about sex at a very young age made me comfortable and mature with the subject when it came time to learn about it in school. Something few other kids' parents could say. In other words, not repressing me helped me. Strange concept, I know.

I just wish that people would take a step back and get some freaking perspective before ranting about this stuff on the radio, on TV or on the interwebs.

[adina]

What's funny, is on other boards, people from European countries are saying the same thing. It's only us dirty Americans who are overblowing it.

I still think this was all for publicity, which is exactly what they got.

[adina]

"WE?" 'We' implies you mean all of us, and that is not correct. I used to live in Thompson Station TN and Billy is not a dim wit. He might be pushing the limit, but he is not stupid. :mad2: Or do you just assume that everyone who lives in TN, the south or are active in country music are dim wits?
Just think if I made an assumption that everyone who can't spell is a dim wit. Would that be correct?
I'll stop here out of respect for PJ.

Perhaps it's only people with mullets who are dim wits?

[Frog]

I looked at the online photos, I didn't think that they were out of line. Heck I'm seen girls in clothing that was more provocative walking down the street, than the photos on line - clothing two sizes to small, pants and t shirt and you could see every thing!

Which is exactly why I object to role models setting the bad example.

[Greg McCary]

Two things I agree with. The picture od dad and daughter is not bad. I have a daughter I am very close to and hope we will always have a good relationship. I see nothing wrong with that picture. Also that celebrities live in their own world. They are overly pampered and clueless to the real world.

[mattbikeboy]

I agree that this whole thing has been blown way out of proportion. Adina is right, they caused a stir and got people's attention. The images I've seen aren't all that provocative. I do kinda like the one with her and her dad. It may be a little racy, but have you been near a middle or high school lately -- she's not wearing anything that nearly every other teenager is wearing (granted we don't buy stuff that shows the shoulders or belly buttons for my daughters).

The image where she is draped in cloth is not really appropriate for a 15 year old, but she is in fact relatively covered -- one piece swimming suits sometimes show more skin.

And Sebastian is right, we can be pretty puritanical in the states. We as a culture decry this kind of stuff publicly and then go home to our internet porn, extra-marital lovers or what ever. If we as a culture would just chill out a bit -- we'd all be better off. And maybe some time in Europe could do us all some good. :thumbsup:

mbb

[jgredline]

As has been stated, Miley Cyrus is an icon of youngsters.

I find it sad that her parents have chosen to transition her to more "adult" entertainment. I would think that it would make it hard to explain to children (such as Tyson has) a rationale as to why they can not wear ... dress ... pose ... act like Miley.

I may be an old fool, but I am sorry that her "childhood" has been taken from her and that she has been thrust into "adulthood" so soon.

Oh well ... just my opinion.

Agreed...It is sad to see her parents pimping her out like that. So sad....

[jgredline]

It'll be a cold day in Hell before any 15 year old daughter of mine would do provacative poses for publication or anywhere else.

Frog, I could not have said it better.

[JETA]

I have a daughter who adores her. Here's the thing. She (my daughter) learns by example from her PARENTS and family.

I think Miley's family should have helped her make a better decision, but in the big scheme of things her posing like she did will have zero impact on my daughter.

Also I wouldn't allow my daughter to pose like that for a national mag. She's a kid and it's up to me to know what is best. That is probably what's the disturbing piece in all of this for me. But alas.... I think her parents were thinking about the publicity and not their daughter.

[jgredline]

I looked at the online photos, I didn't think that they were out of line. Heck I'm seen girls in clothing that was more provocative walking down the street, than the photos on line - clothing two sizes to small, pants and t shirt and you could see every thing!

I am guessing you don't have kids. I have an 8 year old daughter who has a vast collection of Hanna Montana stuff...My child looks up to her and not those running around the streets. I did not have a problem buying the hanna Momtana stuff, but will no longer be buying it...If other people think its ok and OK for there kids to pose that way, its there choice, but as for my and my house....NO.