- Miley Cyrus has revisited her 2008 near-nude photo shoot, which stirred up a media frenzy.
- In a TikTok video, Cyrus revealed that her sister Noah Cyrus took the photo with Annie Leibovitz.
- “Everybody knows the controversy of the photo, but they don’t really know the behind the scenes.”
Miley Cyrus revisited her controversial 2008 photoshoot for Vanity Fair, which saw her pose nearly nude and stirred up a media frenzy.
The 30-year-old singer made the comments in the latest installment in a series of TikTok videos inspired by her reflective new single, “Used To Be Young,” in which she discusses various moments from her past.
“Everyone knows the controversy of the photo, but they don’t really know the behind-the-scenes, which is always much more meaningful,” Cyrus said in the clip as she brought up the famous nearly nude photo shot by renowned photographer Annie Leibovitz on a tablet.
The photo, which featured on the cover of Vanity Fair in 2008, when she was 15, shows Cyrus exposing her bare back to the camera as she holds up a blanket to her chest. It caused a stir among Cyrus’ young fan base and their parents at the time.
Recalling the day of the shoot, Cyrus said her family was on set with her, and her younger sister, Noah Cyrus, actually played a rather important role in getting the shot that helped her shed her Disney Channel image.
“My little sister Noah was sitting on Annie’s lap and actually pushing the button of the camera, taking the pictures,” she revealed. At the time, Noah was 8.
Cyrus went on to say that creative choices were made to cultivate a more grownup image, and intentionally separate her from her television character.
She said: “This was actually the first time I ever wore red lipstick, because Pati Dubroff, who did my makeup, thought that would be another element that would divide me from Hannah Montana.”
“This image of me is a complete opposite of the bubblegum pop star that I had been known for being,” Cyrus continued. “And that was what was so upsetting.”
“But really, really brilliant choices, looking back now, from those people,” she concluded.
In the aftermath of the photo’s controversy, Cyrus issued an apology to her fans.
Per Billboard, she said in a statement: “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.”
But on the 10th anniversary of the Vanity Fair article being published, Cyrus retracted her apology.
On X, formerly known as Twitter, the singer shared a photo of a New York Post cover featuring the portrait, alongside the headline, “MILEY’S SHAME,” and wrote: “IM NOT SORRY Fuck YOU #10yearsago”
Speaking on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” a few days later, Cyrus explained why she revoked her decade-old apology, stating: “There was nothing sexualized about this on set.”
She continued: “It was everyone else’s poisonous thoughts and minds that ended up turning this into something that it wasn’t meant to be. So actually I shouldn’t be ashamed — they should be.”
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