Guide Note

Hannah Montana star Miley Cyrus has had a number of controversial photo sets leaked onto the Internet beginning in December, 2007. In addition, a photo shoot she did with Annie Liebowitz for Vanity Fair garnered controversy in April, 2008.

Fast Facts

1. Birth name: Destiny Hope Cyrus
2. Born: November 23, 1992
3. Birthplace: Franklin, Tennessee
4. Plays Miley Stewart/Hannah Montana on the Disney Channel series, Hannah Montana
5. Daughter of country singer Billy Ray Cyrus

In December 2007, mildly controversial photos of Cyrus were leaked onto the Internet. In a series of four photos, Cyrus is on the floor of a hotel room sharing a piece of candy with another girl, with their lips touching. The other girl is reportedly Cyrus' best friend. Some gossip columnists argued that the photos were innocent fun, as did Cyrus. Others felt the photos were sexual in nature.

In April of 2008, racier photos of Cyrus appeared on the Internet. In the latest photos, Cyrus is shown lying atop the body of a boy, reportedly her boyfriend Thomas Sturges, with her stomach exposed. She's also shown lifting her shirt to display her bra. In another photo, she tugs down a white tank top to reveal a green bra.

Cyrus appeared in a photo shoot for Vanity Fair. The photos were taken by Annie Liebowitz. Her father, Billy Ray Cyrus, also appeared in some of the photos. While Miley Cyrus described the photos as "artsy" and "tasteful" in an interview with Vanity Fair, she later said she was ashamed of them, and accused Liebowitz of manipulating her into taking the photos.

Cyrus told People Magazine that the Internet-leaked photos were "inappropriate" and "silly". She said she had made a mistake, and that she had let herself down, both with the Internet photos and with the Vanity Fair photos.

• "They're nothing bad! At first, I was really upset. It really sucks. [The girl in the pictures] was a friend of mine that's a normal girl. [Now] she has to go to school and deal with this crap. It's two girls at a sleepover, and if all of a sudden that's bad, then what is the world coming to?"—Cyrus on radio station Z100
• "I have let myself down. I will learn from my mistakes and trust my support team. My family and my faith will guide me through my life's journey."—Cyrus in People Magazine
• "Unfortunately, as the article suggests, a situation was created to deliberately manipulate a 15-year-old in order to sell magazines."—Disney, about the Vanity Fair photos