Jun 10
29
Is Miley Living-in-the-Sewer Cyrus history?
OneNewsNow – June 29, 2010
The end of Miley Cyrus
By Marcia Segelstein
Miley Cyrus is one of the biggest teen idols in history. Her face appears on T-shirts and merchandise of almost every kind imaginable, she’s got a successful singing career, and she’s starred in the Disney TV series Hannah Montana and the movie of the same name. All this and she’s only 17.
In our house she was never a big name, probably because my daughter was too old by a year or two to be interested in her, or in her TV show. And my son was, well, my son. Basketball is his thing. But I know plenty of young teens who were – and are – huge fans of hers, and plenty of parents who, for a time at least, were happy to have her as a role model.
Much like the Jonas Brothers, for whom Miley used to be the opening act, she seemed to be a good kid, with a close family and solid values. Unlike the Jonas Brothers, either something changed, or that image was just that: an image.
I’ll never forget the day my then-young teenage daughter told me about a band she really liked. Included in her description was the fact that one of the things the Jonas Brothers were known for was the fact that they wore purity rings, symbolic of their intention to be abstinent until marriage. In fact, I was so intrigued, I wrote a column about them and got to interview their mother, Denise Jonas. One conversation with her and it was clear that family was as rock solid as it’s possible to be. She told me their Christian faith was “the cornerstone of who we are. We’re nothing without it. Every choice we make is based on our faith in Christ.”
Not so much with Miley it would seem. The first crack in her good-girl image appeared early in 2008, when she appeared nude in a photo spread for Vanity Fair. It was widely reported that her father, Billy Ray Cyrus, was there for the shoot. She was 15 years old at the time, and while the photo was discreetly shot, she was still clearly naked. People were left scratching their heads after that one, wondering how her father could have allowed it.
Then last year, for the 2009 Teen Choice Awards, there was an uproar when Miley did a provocative pole dance (I’m not sure if it’s possible to do a non-provocative pole dance – I guess that’s the point) and I remember reading about outrage among parents. That same year in an AOL/JSYK (Just So You Know) poll, 9- to 15-year-olds voted her the worst celebrity influence, pushing Britney Spears into second place. And that’s saying something. (Actually you have to hand it to the kids who realized she was a bad influence!)
Read the complete column here.