Brilliant Business Move or Biggest Mistake of Her Life? Miley Cyrus and Her Semi-Nude Vanity Fair Photo
She’s and actress and a singer. She’s the idol of millions of little girls around the world as Hannah Montana. She’s worth millions. And she’s ubercontroversial right now thanks to a mostly naked photo in Vanity Fair. Yes, I’m talking about Miley Cyrus.
Parents are in an uproar about the scandalous photo of the underage Disney star, but VF says everything was on the up and up:
Me, well I hate to say, "I told you so!" but I stand by what I said in February in my Lively Women post "Does Miley Cyrus Have Histrionic Personality Disorder, or Is She Just Plain Annoying?": This kid is out of control, and her parents need to get their act together. Need I remind you that one of the criteria for histrionic personality disorder from Psychology Today is "striking self-centeredness or sexual seductiveness in inappropriate situations, including social, occupational and professional relationships beyond what is appropriate for the social context"? Hmm…
Whether the wrapped-in-a-bedsheet Annie Leibovitz photo accompanying the VF article "Miley Knows Best" was an attention grab or artistic expression gone horribly wrong, it sure has gotten the kid a lot of press.
So was it a mistake or a calculated move to get more attention? What do you think?
Tags: women and business, women in business, women, woman, business, miley cyrus, vanity fair, annie leibovitz, annie liebovitz, kristen king, biz chicks rule
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POSTED IN: Biz Chick News, Controversial Issues
19 opinions for Brilliant Business Move or Biggest Mistake of Her Life? Miley Cyrus and Her Semi-Nude Vanity Fair Photo
Marijke
May 20, 2008 at 10:13 pm
That’s an interesting question. I’m not sure what I think.
Kelly
May 20, 2008 at 10:22 pm
Brilliant career move. Her parents totally knew what she was doing. She’s been in the biz for awhile, as her father has before her, she wasn’t duped. This was calculated.
My kids love Hannah Montana (having never seen the show). And prior to last month, if you bought a song on iTunes (as we are want to do) from her, it said Hannah Montana. Now it says Miley Cyrus. She clearly wants to move on - and how better than a controversial photo shoot? It worked for Demi… And Jessica Biel.
TOTALLY knew what she was doing. And post Vanessa Hudgens, knew it would be great for her exposure, no pun intended.
Kristen King
May 20, 2008 at 10:40 pm
Thanks for commenting, Marijke!
Kelly, I tend to agree with you, but I’m open to having my mind changed. All signs point to everyone being on board with it, though…
Jean Murray
May 20, 2008 at 10:42 pm
I agree with Kelly. It’s just sad that all those little girls (my 7-year old granddaughter included) are now going to be told they can’t see her perform or watch ‘Hannah Montana’. My daughter-in-law and son-in-law really try to control what their children watch.
They grow up too fast anyway, and it’s difficult for parents to try to explain what’s going on.
Kristen King
May 21, 2008 at 12:19 am
Yup, Jean, those little kids, the ones whose parents are doing their job, anyway, are missing out on their fav star because of this. But honestly, is that a bad thing?
Kelly
May 21, 2008 at 7:24 am
See, sadly, I don’t think that they will miss out on her. There is always someone waiting in the wings to take her place. And they’ll likely do the same thing. It is rare in the Ent World that wholesome girls stay wholesome - look at Lindsay Lohan. Our culture prefers salacious behavior. And we cluck at how terrible it is and then continue to support it - need further evidence? That Nickelodeon will allow Jamie Lyn Spears to be the star of her show even though she’s 16 and pregnant. There’s your role model, huh? And now Jamie has more press than Britney? Accident? My cynical side says no. What’s the saying? “Bad press is better than no press.”
Eliza
May 21, 2008 at 7:34 am
ya know at first I thought poor Miley but then I began wondering this same thing. The girl doesn’t want to stay that little girl, she wants to get more roles and taken more seriously as an adult. I think this was her first step. Granted not so sure she really thought it through, now she’s got the Milk and candy controversy going on.
Miranda
May 21, 2008 at 8:13 am
Definitely calculated, I agree.
But what disturbed me more than the bed sheet were the creepy photos of Miley Cyrus with her father. I was definitely more appalled by those — I never posed for family photos like that.
Kristen King
May 21, 2008 at 9:57 am
@Kelly - That’s for darn sure.
Kristen King
May 21, 2008 at 10:04 am
@Eliza - Very insightful. I feel bad for Annie Leibovitz, though. Not that she’s a stranger to controversey, but I hope she’s in on it, you know?
Kristen King
May 21, 2008 at 10:12 am
@Miranda - I had the same thought! That was very weird…
Eliza
May 21, 2008 at 12:02 pm
the whole thing in my eyes made her (Anne) look bad. I know Miley wore pants but not a top. You know if this was just a regular family that posted a picture of that online they would’ve been accused of something much worse. So where’s the line of this “photo shoot” and child porn?
Marijke
May 21, 2008 at 12:06 pm
@ Eliza - excellent point! It looks like a glamour shot that women get for their spouses on an anniversary or something. My DH would have had a fit if our now 19-yr old dd had posed like that at 15. Heck, he’d have a fit now!
Eliza
May 21, 2008 at 12:09 pm
exactly my point. Anne, should’ve known better this is a child. But I think so many see her as an adult. Geez I hope that’s how they viewed her because it was sickening to me. In fact I haven’t seen a show with her in it since. I know it may and may not have been Miley’s fault but there WERE adults that should’ve prevented this. Borders way too much for my taste. Yes, we would’ve had a cow if our daughter was wrapped in a sheet for the world to see. Why not lay her on a bed? Yes, reports said she was wearing pants just not a top. Ummm, still borders.
Alicia Sparks, NAMI Affiliation Leader
May 21, 2008 at 12:33 pm
I don’t know what to think, really.
Calculated move? Possibly. It gained her some major attention as I’m sure they knew it would; however, she had so much attention anyway that I don’t know why they’d be striving for more - it’s not like she was going broke. Too, they had to know parents and the Disney folks weren’t going to be too pleased.
Big mistake? Eh, if she really has any solid talent, she’ll bounce back. Of course, as huge as she is at 15 (she is 15, right? I can’t remember) I don’t suspect she’ll be bigger (or even as big) in later life. Her parents, on the other hand, I think have made a huge mistake. I mean, seriously. Business move or not, they agreed to let half-naked pictures of their teenage daughter be published in a magazine. That’s just not wise.
And we wonder why old men think it’s acceptable to drool over young girls.
Business aspects of it aside, I think it was a mistake. She’s way too young for that picture to be deemed “tasteful.”
Kristen
May 21, 2008 at 12:51 pm
@Eliza - EXCELLENT point. None of MY family photos look like that! ::shudder::
Kristen
May 21, 2008 at 12:54 pm
@Marijke - Okay, if she were 19, I wouldn’t love it, but I’d be a lot more inclined to say, “Oh, what a beautiful portrait!” At 15, I’m more leaning toward, “Oh, soft-core child porn!”
Kristen
May 21, 2008 at 12:57 pm
@Eliza - Whether she was wearing pants is immaterial. Having a child who’s out of diapers topless at a photo shoot is WAY inappropriate. If it were her and Annie Leibovitz one on one, considerably less sketchy but still not a great idea. There are TONS of people around at these shoots. At 15 in that type of situation, I probably would have been afraid to say no, in all honesty. I can’t speak for Miley Cyrus or anyone else who was there, but I can’t imagine that would have been a comfortable situation for a teenage girl, famous or not.
Kristen
May 21, 2008 at 1:00 pm
@Alicia - I agree that it was a bad idea and that a photo like that of a 15-year-old is tasteless, but pretend for a moment she’s 18. It really is a gorgeous picture. I don’t think this is going to ruin her career, though Disney may want to avoid renewing their contract for obvious reasons. (Just speculating on that one — don’t quote me!) She’s getting press, she’s handling a scandal, and she’s showing that she has model potential.
“Stupid like a fox” comes to mind…
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