Miley's Photos Too Sexy for My Budget

04/30/08 - 01:13 PM EDT

Suzanne Barlyn

I can't fault Cyrus as much as the adults making business decisions on her behalf. Shame on Vanity Fair for using a suggestive photo of a 15-year-old as a sales gimmick to sell magazines.

And why didn't her parents, who were on-site during the photo shoot, have the presence of mind to draw the line? It seems that Miley Cyrus and the Hannah Montana franchise have already extracted a fortune from worldwide fans. But I suppose, in the context of our twisted pop culture, that Cyrus is old enough now to start pushing the sex envelope, so the cash can soon come rolling in from a more mature crowd.

I'm already loath to spend my money on Hannah Montana merchandise and other novelties marketed to kids, because entertainment companies such as Disney want my six-year-old daughter to say "Please, mommy." Now, I have the best reason possible to say "no" -- at least to future Hannah Montana purchases.

Cyrus' apology to her fans and the "embarrassment" she alleges over the photos isn't enough to win me over. It seems that apologies are all that's necessary to keep stars in the limelight to suck up more cash from youthful crowds.

Case in point: the Vanessa Hudgens nudity scandal. Last fall, naked photos of the High School Musical star -- another lucrative Disney franchise -- appeared online. Yes, Hudgens is "of age" and can certainly do what she pleases, but perhaps not while she's parading around as the picture of innocence in a television flick that's aggressively marketed to my children.

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