CMT News

Miley Cyrus' Vanity Fair Photo Is International News

The continuing controversy surrounding Miley Cyrus' photo spread for an upcoming issue of Vanity Fair magazine has become an international news story. With domestic coverage in the New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times and Newsweek, the story has also been featured in other newspapers throughout the world, including The Times and The Guardian of London, The Globe and Mail of Toronto and the Herald Sun in Melbourne, Australia. Celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz took the photos which include an image of the 15-year-old Hannah Montana star clutching a sheet with her bare shoulders and upper back exposed. Cyrus, who has apologized to her fans for the photo, said in a statement she "took part in a photo shoot that was supposed to be 'artistic.'" Leibovitz says she and Cyrus discussed plans for the photo before she shot it, adding she is sorry the portrait "has been misinterpreted." In the media reports, journalists have blamed a variety of people for the photo being taken, including Leibovitz, Vanity Fair editors and Cyrus' father, Billy Ray Cyrus, who was present for at least part of the photo shoot. Billy Ray Cyrus has not commented regarding the Vanity Fair feature.