Vanity Fair Stands Behind Miley Cyrus Photos

In case you missed it, there was quite a hub-bub yesterday over the photos of Miley Cyrus that appear in the June 2008 issue of Vanity Fair. In the photos, Miley appears topless-ish: she holds a loose piece of fabric over her chest as she works the camera. Miley issued an apology, there was plenty of speculation over whether photographer Annie Liebovitz had manipulated Miley and every major media outlet had their, "OMGZ SEXUALZ!!!1 SHE'S LIKE JAMIE LYNN WITHOUT THE FETUS!!!! I think?" freakouts.

Vanity Fair responded by posting their behind-the-scenes video and candid photos from the shoot, which show Miley's dad, Billy Ray, in attendance and Miley smiling and joking. The message appears to be, "See? How could we be exploiting her if she's smiling?"

Erm. Well.

Here's what I think: Miley is 15. Do you remember being 15? It's a pretty crazy time for even your most average Jane, let alone for an international superstar poised to be worth $1 billion. Do you remember why it was crazy? Because you were still kind of a kid but at the same time you were probably becoming a sexual being. Not necessarily having sex, per se, but getting comfortable in your skin as a woman who will at some point have and enjoy sex, who will enjoy feeling sensual. And you probably wanted to, were probably dying to convey that in some manner.

Honestly, I thought the photographs were gorgeous. And let's take a moment to remember who Annie motherfucking Leibovitz is. She's a master. She is able to get to the meat of her subjects, which is why I think these images were so provocative. Beneath all of that Hannah Montana crap, Leibovitz drew out the woman in Miley, and how she was feeling one gorgeous day in California when she was 15. Can you imagine having a picture of yourself like that? Let's not forget, Annie Leibovitz took this picture:

I mean, what can you really say about that picture? It's beyond words. That's the kind of artist that she is.

The problem, of course, is that Miley's fans are all kids. Sure, they'll all be 15 one day and will have the same kind of feelings that Miley is having, but for right now it's got to be confusing for them to see her in that way.

And that sucks, honestly. It sucks that Miley can't just feel how she's feeling and express herself how she wants to express herself.

But I don't know that she's mature enough to think all of that stuff through, which is why one of the adult types at the shoot should have said, "Hey, these particular pictures are awesome, but let's keep them for your private collection and publish these fully-clothes ones instead."

Or maybe media conglomerates shouldn't put their child stars in a position where they must have wisdom beyond their years and enough money to have those closest to you get bloodthirsty and then shove you into the spotlight to defend your 15-year-old self who, sorry, isn't yet that bright about life, especially after they tell you that you're going to ruin everything for them and for yourself and you'll be a huge joke and all of that money and fame and crap that you worked for will be GONE. Maybe THAT'S where the exploitation lies.

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