Much ado about (Miley’s) pictures

To those of us who are too old to appreciate the Disney series Hannah Montana, but aren’t that old that we can’t have fun watching American Idol, Miley Cyrus first made a dent on our consciousness with her Idol Gives Back sketch with Billy Crystal.

We’ll be seeing more of Miley soon, as The Hannah Montana Movie is slated to be released anytime now. You might have seen her on the big screen already, though, as she had a bit role in Tim Burton’s Big Fish—she was one of the children who would sneak out at night to have a look at “the witch’s” house.

Not that we haven’t been seeing a lot of her lately, enmeshed as she is in this scandal of sorts. But first, that Idol Gives Back spot—which, I think, was one of the funniest things ever written for the reality singing contest. The delivery was just slightly less funny, though. But it still worked for me.

Hollywood veteran (funny I can call him that now) Billy Crystal introduced Miley Cyrus, mispronouncing her name. She came out on stage and gamely bantered with him, pretending she didn’t know him even as he rattled off all his significant work (The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally, Analyze This). She only “recognized” him when he mentioned his role as the voice of one-eyed monster Mike Wazowski in Monsters, Inc.

What wasn’t so funny was that I actually know more about Billy! Miley, after all, was born in 1992. Which brings us back to the “scandal” about her. This fifteen-year-old had a photo shoot for this little magazine called Vanity Fair. Ever heard of it? And does the photographer’s name Anne Leibowitz ring a bell?

So, Miley’s making it big time—just in time for the release of The Hannah Montana movie too—and suddenly, she’s in the limelight for the wrong reasons. Apparently, people found one of the photos Vanity Fair released online as offensive to her “tween” fans. The reason for the backlash: a photo of  “naked” her clutching a satin bedsheet. In the photo, she’s wearing pasty make-up and dark red lipstick, and is showing her back mostly. Nothing really scandalous about it, if you ask me. In fact, she looks more like “child-of-Joker” than anything sexy.

Leibowitz, who’s no stranger to controversy herself (I suppose if the Queen of England snaps at you, everything else is peanuts), has since apologized—not for the photo itself, but because people misinterpreted them. Her Vanity Fair statement reads: “I’m sorry that my portrait of Miley has been misinterpreted. 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.”

I agree. But parents are right, too, in being worried that her photo would send the wrong message to their underage children. Blame it on the likes of Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan—once upon a time child stars, currently cautionary tales.

I’d just like to add, though, that sometimes, the malice on other people’s minds is a huge part of what makes something “scandalous”. I can accept that Leibowitz just wanted to capture a young woman’s sensuality—and it can’t be denied that fifteen- or sixteen-year-olds can be just that. In fact, I’d still say that at that age, you can already be at the peak of your womanly beauty. But ask me again when I’m a parent myself.

Meanwhile, Miley herself apologized to her fans, saying, “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. I never intended for any of this to happen and I apologize to my fans who I care so deeply about.”

And meanwhile, she has generated extra PR mileage for her film, the Vanity Fair website has garnered millions of page hits, and everyone else involved is still getting more and more publicity. This is how you make a star.

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