Vanity Fair Tangles with the Miley Cyrus Machine: Why She Shouldn't Apologize

There is a good reason for Miley Cyrus to be concerned about the upcoming edition of Vanity Fair, which will feature her soon to be infamous photo shoot with Annie Leibovitz. On Sunday, her publicist issued this statement from Miley, "I took part in a photo shoot that was supposed to be 'artistic' and now, seeing the photographs and reading the story, I feel so embarrassed. I never intended for any of this to happen and I apologize to my fans, who I care so deeply about."

The question is, why exactly is she apologizing? The truth of the matter is that the photographs were fine. They probably won't stir up any career derailing controversy. I mean, it's not like it's the April 1999 cover of Rolling Stone, which shows a far too young Britney Spears sporting hardly anything more than a "come and taste this" look on her face, while lying provocatively posed on a bed. There's hardly anything sexy about these photos at all. The only thing that I could see being remotely worrisome about "the" photo is that you can see the poor girl's ribs. But that just makes her look hungry. Not for sex... but for a double cheeseburger.

If she's embarrassed about the interview by Bruce Handy, she should be. Not embarrassed in that "Oh my goodness, I've done something reckless" kind of way, but in that "People who hate me are making fun of me" kind of way. She shouldn't apologize for the article. It's not her fault that the guy who wrote it is a jerk. Did Vanity Fair have a "Who Hates Miley Cyrus Most" essay contest among their smarmiest interviewers in order for Mr. Handy to win the honor of being so nasty? I know that Vanity Fair is a far leap from Tiger Beat. The demographic of its readers are most likely to poke fun at successful teens because they're still upset that they used to love New Kids on the Block - and everyone made fun of them for it.