Unless you have a little girl between the ages of 5 and 14; or a granddaughter in one of those approximate ages, chances are you may never have heard of Hannah Montana(I do, and I have). You may or may not have heard of Miley Cyrus, Hannah Montana's real alter ego, before this past week; but chances are you could not have missed the furor surrounding her of recent.

For those whose head has been into really important news events, Miley Cyrus is the precocious daughter of country star Billy Ray Cyrus, who burst on the scene in the early nineties with his mega-hit "Achy Breaky Heart".

Today, he's more recognizable as Miley's dad as well as her television dad on her mega-hit "Hannah Montana", the Disney Channel's latest offering starring a young teen.

Miley has become so popular with the pre-teen set that she has become a billion dollar commodity for Disney.

Screen grabs of the photo quickly popped up online, sparking a blogosphere debate. “Bonfire anyone?” wrote Lin Burress on her marriage and parenting blog, "Telling It Like It Is", referring to the mountain of Hannah Montana retail items — makeup, shoes, clothes — in the marketplace.

“Parents should be extremely concerned,” Ms. Burress said in an interview. “Very young girls look up to Miley Cyrus as a role model.”

It is doubtful that one photograph — especially one that is tame in the context of an Internet awash in nude photographs of other starlets — could dent the Hannah Montana machine, said several Wall Street analysts. Retail sales for the franchise are expected to total about $1 billion in 2008. A motion picture is in the works for 2009 and Ms. Cyrus signed a seven-figure book deal with the Disney Book Group last week.

But keeping a teenage entertainment franchise on track in an age when stars are monitored around the clock by bloggers and paparazzi is extremely difficult, even for a company with the experience of Disney. Executives are constantly battling to keep minor slipups from growing into full-blown controversies.

So, how did this photo happen to be taken in the first place? For the same reason that I discussed in my previous post, "A World Without Limits". Miley's parents and her professional advisors let her down.

A case in point: What is a fifteen-year-old Disney star doing posing for a photo spread in "Vanity Fair". This is an edgy magazine that targets the hip professional in his/ her late twenties or early thirties.

One knows, if he is posing for this magazine, that it always features edgy, slightly controversial photos and content.

But greed once again reared its ugly head. Neither her parents, who were at the shoot as was her grandmother and other adults who are "supposed" to have her best interest at heart, did one thing to stop this photo being printed for publication. That, in spite of the fact that they all saw it.

Miley simply followed the suggestion of her photographer (a woman, incidentally, with a stellar reputation). She thought it was "cool" when the photographer suggested it. What fifteen-year-old doesn't want to look sexy and older?

Here's where the family should have stepped in to state that it was too mature for her as well as totally alien to her image on Hannah Montana.

Fact is, they should have stepped in when "Vanity Fair" came calling with a firm "NO".

Miley later admitted the photo embarrassed her when it started popping up everywhere. She's on a slippery slope right now. Will she go the way of her predecessors--Lindsay Lohan,(in and out of drug rehab); Britney Spears(all kinds of mental and drug problems; and Jaime Spears, Britney's sister, now pregnant at 16. Former Disney pre-teen idols all.

Let us hope her parents step in before it is too late to put some limits on and provide some direction for their daughter.

Comments:

Amen! Her father used poor taste when he took the picture with her ... He probably had dollar signs in his eyes ... what normal Dad would pose in a sexually-provocative photo with his daughter? ... I wonder what Miley's mom thinks of Dad's and daughter's pose? ... smells a little too much like incest ... ... my ex-fiance's mother attempted to throw her underaged daughter to me in order to get her claws into my family's money ... I said "No" to the evil lady's little invitation and, then I called Child Protected Services and reported the lady ... I suspect that my ex-fiance's father molested her and her sister, because younger sister tried to kill herself, which prompted "Daddy Dearest" to pack his bags and move out ... ... America's epidemic of incest and child molestation is truly tragic ....

This is so BS.Martin is so right on this and will go along.
Leave the kid alone.They are just jealous.
That was a lovely s hoot by a famous photographer Annie L.
She will do good.What is so porno about this.
A lovely shoulder and back.
Adults.Leave the kid alone and worry about your own.

Our mothers would have killed us! nuff said!It isn't a joking matter. I agree that the picture is much too suggestive for a 15 year old. Unfortunately, those who behold this picture could be predators!

I think for her age and what the fact that she is a roll model doesn't help this. I don't think the pic is a bad pic at all, but I do think that it encourages others, younger, to emulate her which isn't good. It's a debate alright!

comment by kristilyn3 on May 6, 2008 7:42 AM ()

Kristy, you hit the nail right on the head. For who she is, who her fan base is, and the persona she represents to them, this is not appropriate. Young girls do emulate her, you are right.

reply by redimpala on May 6, 2008 6:09 PM ()

I feel the same way you do Red. But, I too hope that they (being the media) will let this die down and let her and her family go on with their lives.

comment by texastar on May 5, 2008 10:52 PM ()

Me too.

reply by texastar on May 6, 2008 7:50 PM ()

She is living in a fish bowl. Every move she makes, every decision she makes or someone else makes for her, is going to be under the microscope. A tough way for a young girl or guy to grow into an adult. I wish them all the best; and hope they can find a way to deal with it.

reply by redimpala on May 6, 2008 6:11 PM ()

Who IS this child, and I didn't get to dress that way until I was eighteen, and I survived! But I had a mother who had a look that could change your life, including so your clothes, with a glance. Poor child, where is her mama?And a pox on the kiddie porn specialists who have made this stuff acceptable. They get the life they deserve, ultimately.

I see nothing wrong, obscene, pornographic with the pictures--I do see something wrong with the 'eyes of the beholder' and all the publicity surrounding it--Jodie Foster and (senior moment--what's the name of the tall TV star who appeared in the first 'sexy jeans ad?? had her own TV show--darn--Brooks??) who appeared in an 'island movie' as a teenager just to name 2 who had parents who guided their career but there weren't the 'gossip' audience there is today. Brook Shields!!!!! I remembered!!