Is there hope for her destiny?
April 30th, 2008 by Republican By DefaultMiley Cyrus, singer and actress known for her role as ‘Hannah Montana’ in the Disney conglomerate, is the most recent victim of the exploitation from the entertainment industry.
The vultures at Vanity Fair sent their sleazy photographer Annie Leibovitz to shoot Miss Cyrus for an upcoming issue. As per usual, Leibovitz tried to get the sleaziest shots she possibly could. The magazine released the photos in their never-ending quest to sell magazines and magazine ads.
Is this the beginning of the end for yet another young pop star? Is she on the same road as Lindsey Lohan and Britney Spears?
It turns out that ‘Miley’ is a nickname given to her by her father, country singer and actor Billy Ray Cyrus. She was born ‘Destiny Hope Cyrus’, a name chosen by her father because of a ‘vision’ he had of his daughter when she was born. He said of the name that “it’s her destiny to bring hope to many…”
Is it now her destiny to bring hope to paparazzi and tabloid magazines?
Michelle Malkin did an excellent job of describing the real problem:
The adults surrounding Miley Cyrus shamelessly abdicated their responsibility to protect her best interests. Mom and Dad got caught up in the Vanity Fair glam. Vanity Fair didn’t see a 15-year-old girl. They saw magazine sale dollar signs. And Annie Leibovitz saw skin, skin, skin and another notch in her belt.
The parents, grandmother, and teacher are not alone in shouldering blame. Shame on Liebovitz and the pretentious left-wing editor of Vanity Fair, Graydon Carter.
According to the Vanity Fair article, Miley herself recognized she was being coaxed into the shot by a cunning Leibovitz:
And though the pose was Annie Leibovitz’s idea, the topless but demure portrait accompanying this article could be seen as another baby step, as it were, toward a more mature profile. “I think it’s really artsy,” Cyrus says. “It wasn’t in a skanky way.… And you can’t say no to Annie. She’s so cute. She gets this puppy-dog look and you’re like, O.K.”
So, it has begun.
Miley Cyrus will always be tied to this photo shoot. The vultures will be circling her for the rest of her life, each waiting for a piece of her flesh after the death of her innocence. An entire industry trying to push her further into the sleaze that the industry is known for all around the world.
Call me cynical, but the girl just showed that she’s vulnerable to lures of the dark side. Now it’s all a matter of her personal choices. Will she come back from this personally stronger or weaker?
I’m not ready to write-off ‘Destiny Hope’ just yet. But if I were a parent of preteen girl, I would begin looking for a different role model for her.
May 15th, 2008 at 2:16 am
I resent the description “sleazy photographer” in reference to Ms Leibowitz. Her work has been long-respected, and as a professional her career has benefitted her subjects as often as she’s “exploited” them. Ultimately, Ms Cyrus is coming into her own destiny as a child potentially exploited by a father whose “achey breaky heart” may have outlived its monetary usefulness; to assume the worst of the photographer in question seems presumptive, to me, as well as short-sighted.
Bottom line: parents signed off. Kid consented. Flesh? Sure, a little bit, but don’t confuse this with Playboy, Hustler, or worse internet porn. This is not “exploitation” –money changed hands.
Think about it.
May 15th, 2008 at 2:42 am
Actually, her parents didn’t sign off on that photo, they signed off on a shoot, probably assuming that a certain amount of decorim would be maintained. It was a grandparent and a teacher who allowed the photo to be taken. The parents were shocked by what they saw. Granted they are still responsible for the girl until she’s of age, but this sleazy photographer manipulated the girl into consenting to it. Leibowitz work is sleazy and her tactics to trick children into posing while nude (or nearly so) is sleazy.
For the record, her father discouraged her from becoming an entertainer. But she made up her mind and he respected that. He keeps a close watch on her but this shoot was obviously a lapse in judgment. One that she will pay for the rest of her life. She has already become the subject of an SNL skit.
Money changing hands doesn’t change the fact that this is exploitation. Money is a tool of exploitation, just like drugs and promises of popularity or success. She played upon a young girls emotions to get what she wanted. And in her wake may be the beginning of the end of yet another pop star.