Market Features

Miley's Photos Too Sexy for My Budget

04/30/08 - 01:13 PM EDT


Does everything have to be about sex?

Tarting-up teenage performers, such as Disney'sDIS Hannah Montana star Miley Cyrus, may be a tempting business strategy, but the practice won't extract a dime from my wallet.

If anything, I plan to rein in future spending on merchandise depicting television characters. Gas is expensive. Food costs are climbing and the economy is sinking. Hannah Montana is certainly one expense that can go.

Photos of Cyrus, shot for Vanity Fair magazine by famed photographer Annie Leibovitz, are causing a national stir.

Vanity Fair Leaves Miley Not So Smiley

No wonder.

Several photos capture the 15-year-old pop star with a sultry look on her face, donning a sheet draped over her front, while her back is completely exposed.

I'm not a puritan -- just the mother of a six-year-old girl. And I don't want to spend my family's money on pop stars who take their tops off -- even halfway.

Leibovitz has reportedly described the photo as a "simple, classic portrait." Well, I'm not buying it, Annie (or this month's Vanity Fair). Miley Cyrus looks partly naked, and the shadows under her eyes could just as well be the remnants of yesterday's mascara. Why must her messy hairstyle convey that just-got-out-of bed look?

The shot of Cyrus lying across the lap of her father, Billy Ray Cyrus, with her mid-section exposed also seems a little too sensual for a father-daughter picture.

It would have been just as easy to capture an artful portrait of Cyrus fully clothed.

Previous «
1 2 3
Suzanne Barlyn is a writer in Washington Crossing, Pa.

Headlines & Perspectives

Market Features

Go To Section Home


04/30/08
GDP Says Economy Grew, Avoided Recession

GDP grew 0.6% in the first quarter, according to the government's initial reading.


04/30/08
Economy Avoids Recession

GDP grew 0.6% in the first quarter, according to the government's initial reading.


04/30/08
Fed Mulls Rate Cut, Policy Changes

The central bank is discussing paying interest on reserves that banks hold there, in a move that could allow it to lend more to institutions in trouble.


04/28/08
Cramer's Take on the Top 10 Searched Stocks

Apple and AT&T were among the most searched stocks on TheStreet.com Friday. Here's what Cramer had to say about them recently.


04/26/08
Jim Cramer's Best Blogs

Catch up on his thinking on the hottest topics of the past week.


04/26/08
Coming Week: Make or Break

Investors will have to deal with a Fed meeting and another flood of earnings and economic data.


04/27/08
This Week's Barron's Roundup

Looking for deep value with Defiance Asset Management, polling big investors about where the market's headed, plus much more.


04/28/08
Monday's Analysts' Upgrades, Downgrades

See who made what calls.


02/29/08
3 Stocks I Saw On TV

3 Stocks I Saw On TVDan Fitzpatrick examines three stocks viewed on Fast Money and Mad Money Today's stocks include Deere & Co., Petrobras and MBIA


04/28/08
One Bank Pick Stumbles, the Other Soars

TheStreet.com Ratings checks in on First Community Bancorp and First Niagara Financial Group two months after recommending the stock.


04/28/08
Grand Theft Auto IV Hits the Jackpot

Take-Two's latest hit receives a perfect score from industry reviewers.


Your Recent Quotes: Quote Up0 | Quote Down0
Dow S&P 500 NASDAQ
Oil*
Gold
10 Yr
0.00%
%
%
%
Data delayed 20 min
Premium Stock Ideas
Access Action Alerts Plus to find out Cramer’s latest picks now!