Miley Cyrus may claim to be “embarrassed” by risqué photos, but it wasn’t the first time the tween queen has flirted with Britney Spears territory.
In fact, the Vanity Fair shots of the 15-year-old “Hannah Montana” star draped in nothing but a bedsheet may have been a calculated act as she aims to have the “best of both worlds” – a young fan base and an adult career launching just around the corner.
“At some point, she will no longer be Hannah Montana and needs to continue her career as Miley Cyrus,” Douglas Merrifield, executive producer of her concert flick, “Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds,” told The Post.
Miley has been moving to emulate older pop stars who have cultivated a sexed-up style.
For the dance numbers in her “Best of Both Worlds” show, she worked with Teresa Espinosa, who has choreographed for Janet Jackson and Pink. And last year, Miley reportedly hired Harley Pasternak, Jessica Simpson’s trainer, to whip her into shape.
“There’s no such thing as bad publicity,” Merrifield said, “but it remains to be seen if the timing of these photos was right.”
In response to outrage over the magazine pictures, which also include a shot of a belly-baring Miley lolling in the lap of dad Billy Ray Cyrus, the teen said, “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.” But for the millions of teens and preteens who have been following her career and who gobbled up $1 billion worth of Miley merchandise last year, it wasn’t the first time Miley showed a womanly side. Her transformation had begun months earlier, when she posted equally saucy snaps on the Internet.
In December, a photo of her in a near liplock with a girlfriend found its way onto the Web. Miley told New York’s Z100-FM, “It was a friend of mine [who’s] a normal girl . . . She has to go to school and deal with that crap . . . This is Satan attacking.”
But in the Vanity Fair article that accompanies the photographs by Annie Leibovitz’s, Miley admits, “It was me [who posted the photo] on my MySpace [page].”
She told People magazine in December, “I like to look kind of like what girls would want to look up to.”
Then she posted even more age-inappropriate shots of herself flashing her bra on MySpace in January, and again on April 20, just a week before the Vanity Fair controversy erupted.
Miley appears to be well aware of the perils that come with membership in the pop-tart parade.
About meeting older male fans, she told Oklahoma City’s KJ103-FM in February: “When it’s the dad fans, it’s so cute! ‘Cause they’re with their daughters . . . Then there’s the guys who [come] on their own. That’s creepy!”
Creepy indeed, particularly for a devout Christian gal who has said, “Whenever I go on tour, I take a travel Bible.”
Born Destiny Hope Cyrus in Nashville, Tenn., on Nov. 23, 1992, Miley has showbiz in her blood: Dad Billy Ray, 46, is a country-music star who had his biggest hit, “Achy Breaky Heart,” that same year.
Bitten by the acting bug at age 9, Miley landed a part on Billy Ray’s Pax TV series, “Doc.” At 11, she auditioned for “Hannah Montana.”
Although initially deemed too young for the role of Miley Stewart – a regular teen who leads a double life as pop star Hannah Montana – she finally snagged the role a year later.
Right out of the gate, “Hannah Montana” was a hit, quickly becoming the top-rated cable show among tweens. And of the four soundtrack albums that followed, two debuted at No. 1. Miley’s live concerts have also been unprecedented successes, with her most recent tour grossing $50 million.
Couple that with truckloads of hot-selling merchandise and you’ve got an entertainer who last year ranked No. 17 on Forbes’ list of top 20 earners under 25.
Three days ago, her transformation from Destiny to Miley (a nickname she earned as a “smiley” tot) became complete when a Los Angeles judge approved her petition to change her name to Miley Ray Cyrus.
Meanwhile, “Mileygate” continues to simmer.
For every fan who expresses support, another pans her for smacking of pop stars gone bad.
“We have turned Disney off and destroyed anything Hannah Montana. I hope we do not have another Britney,” wrote one of Miley’s MySpace friends.
In the weeks ahead, Miley may be a basking a little less in the spotlight. On Thursday, Disney nixed her appearance at the following day’s Disney Channel Games media bash, which would have been her first public outing since the scandal broke.
“There has been a breach of trust,” Michele Combs of the Christian Coalition told The Post of Miley. “Going forward, she’ll have to prove she is truly sorry and does in fact represent wholesome values.”