Thank God. I was surprised to see that Miley Cyrus is now saying that she is “embarrassed” by the way some of her photos turned out for recent Vanity Fair article. At least she has the good sense to feel badly. I have been bracing myself for my four-year-old daughter’s discovery of Hannah Montana and I definitely worry that there are very few good role models out ther for young girls these days. If you read the blog regularly, you know that recently, I took issue with a pregnant Jamie Spears and that I am adament about the need for young celebrities to take more responsibility for their actions. This recent declaration from Cyrus gives me a little hope. Just a little, mind you. But in this situation, it wasn’t entirely up to Miley to keep this from happening. While I’m not a fan of Miley’s, I don’t like to see young people being taken advantage of.

My husband and I were discussing this and we both feel very strongly that magazines like Vanity Fair should be reprimanded or penalized in some way for attempting to exploit this young lady. Yes, she probably thought the pictures were a good idea at the time, but really, if she weren’t a celebrity, wouldn’t shooting a photos such as these be considered borderline pedophilia? Yes, her parents or “handlers” were there, but does that make a difference when the outcome is just plain wrong. We wouldn’t pardon a child molester if the abuse took place with the parent’s permission, why should something like this be any different. Just because she’s making the money and she’s a star doesn’t mean she isn’t deserving of protection from exploitation.

You may also cry, “Publicity Stunt!” And you might not be wrong, but I can’t see how this young lady needs help in that department. She’s one of the most popular young celebrities around. I don’t think she is at a point in her career where she needs to employ these kinds of tactics to make money. I think, and this is just my opinion, that people who work with or around celebrities start to get a little greedy when the money is rolling in and that they start to forget about the well-being of the person with the talent. At that point, they forget to care about the impact of some of the things that they allow their youngsters to do as part of their “work.” They say, “She’s having the time of her life,” or “It’s all part of the game.” For this, they should be ashamed. I can’t blame a fifteen year-old for letting something like this happen. She’s not even old enough to drive and unless she’s emancipated herself from her parents, it really is their responsibility to protect her from situations just like this one. I just hope that she continues to perceive this as a negative experience and that she isn’t permitted to repeat the incident by parents who didn’t quite get it.

Until next time…