Leibovitz convinced Miley Cyrus to do backless photo after her parents left

Disney says Miley was manipulated; her dad says he wasn’t on the set at that point and didn’t see those photos
When the Disney Channel issued a statement that “a situation was created to deliberately manipulate a 15-year-old in order to sell magazines,” I assumed they were overstating their case in an attempt to do damage control, but new details make it seem as if that’s exactly what happened.

Miley’s reps say that her parents weren’t on the set at the time that the controversial backless photos were taken. Her grandmother and teacher were there and were convinced that it would be ok.

“Miley’s parents did leave the shoot and were not present for the final shot, nor did they see any digital images of the shot in question,” a Miley spokeswoman told The Post yesterday.

Her grandmother and her teacher were left to supervise, according to People magazine.

“Annie convinced them it was going to be artistic,” a source told People. “Her parents are mortified.”

[From The NY Post]

Leibovitz convinced Miley to take those photos after her parents left
Leibovitz explained how the photos came about, saying “Miley and I looked at fashion photographs together, and we discussed the picture in that context before we shot it. The photograph is a simple, classic portrait, shot with very little makeup, and I think it is very beautiful.”

In the article accompanying the pictures, Miley says that it was hard to refuse the photographer’s request. She called the photo “really artsy,” but not “in a skanky way,” and said “You can’t say no to Annie. She’s so cute. She gets this puppy-dog look, and you’re like, OK.” [NY Post]

Given the news that Miley’s parents had left at that point, you can’t help but think that Liebovitz knew exactly what she was doing. I personally don’t find the photos all that revealing or sexy, but Miley’s target audience are young kids and a lot of people say she’s sending the wrong message with those pictures. Her whole image as a wholesome Christian teen star is threatened by this mini-scandal, and rumor has it that Disney plans to keep her out of the spotlight for a while until the story dies down. Meanwhile Miley’s dad Billy Ray is said to be “furious” that the photos were taken and never shown to him or his wife before they were published. He is said to have left early on the day of the shoot due to “a prior commitment.”

Here’s a behind the scenes video from Vanity Fair’s website:

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