The big discussion at GLONO HQ Tuesday night revolved around the Miley Cyrus cover story on the August issue of Elle magazine. When I first saw it, I didn’t realize it was Hannah Montana on the cover. I thought it was just some cool looking skater girl model. She looked like a teenage River Phoenix:
Pretty cool, right? Some of the other photos are a little age-inappropriate for a 16-year-old girl, but that’s not particularly shocking. We’ve been down this road last year with the “topless” Vanity Fair shots by Annie Leibovitz. Which were tame and lame…even for a 15-year-old.
The crazy thing in this Elle piece is not the photo shoot but the article in which Billy Ray Cyrus so shamelessly pimps out his daughter.
BRC clearly saw some synergy with a 20-year-old male underwear model:
“My dad showed me a picture of him, and I’m like, ‘He’s okay,'” Miley recalls. “He said, ‘You don’t think he’s really hot?’ And I was like, ‘He’s not really my type. Too pretty.’ He was like, ‘What? You’re the only girl that’s not freaking out about him right now.’
“[Justin] came to the set with my dad in September because my dad was helping him write some music. My dad said, ‘Hey, I have a surprise for you.’ And I’d been wanting a puppy.”
Helping him write some music? Okay, you own the publishing on some dumb hunky newcomer, but if you want anybody to be interested in his music, just get him to date your preposterously popular daughter, whether she’s underage or not. What kind of dad does that kind of shit for his teenage daughter? This kind: “I’m a friend first and foremost, then a daddy, and then a business partner.”
First of all, it’s fucked up to put being a “friend” ahead of being a parent. Furthermore, I’m guessing that #3 and #2 should be switched up there, if he’s being honest. I’m guessing #3 is actually #1. He pretty much comes right out and admits it:
“Our lives have always been in the big tent of the circus,” Billy Ray says. “The kids grew up in that tent. Show business has always been the cornerstone of our livelihood. It’s what we do.”
Telling choice of words there. Not “Music has always been the cornerstone of our lives.” Show business…livelihood. It’s all money money money.
Back at GLONO HQ, Johnny Loftus read the article out loud as the rest of us chimed in. My 21-year-old cousin, in town for the summer, was bewildered that a couple of grown-ass men gave a shit about Miley Cyrus. Loftus attempted in vain to explain how important it is to understand the context from which our popular culture is formed, but my cousin wasn’t buying it. We were just a couple of creepy old dudes leering at a skanky 16-year-old.
But the marketing angle of the whole “Hannah Montana” phenomenon is fascinating and creepy. It’s aimed at teen and pre-teen girls, and the work is performed by a teenage girl, but the freak pulling the strings to perpetuate his “livelihood” is a pervy old mullet whose own career is the butt of a joke.
Miley Cyrus is not a good actor, she’s not a good singer, but she’s more famous than anybody. Why? At the end of the article, a director named Brett Ratner sums it up pretty nicely:
“In a time when you don’t need to be talented to be famous, she’s good enough that she wouldn’t have to work that hard, but she does. […] I wasn’t the most talented director in the world, but I worked hard to have success. She works harder than any young person I’ve ever met.”
So there you have it. Miley Cyrus is a mediocre talent who works toward being successful. With a little pushing from her achy breaky dad. And that, apparently, is what our pop culture is all about today. Come on, this isn’t even Elle Girl, the kids version that folded in 2006. This is for adults. And it’s important. The Disney steamroller is going to flatten all of us. Or something. You’d better ask Loftus to explain it…
What do you think? Is it right for a dad (or anybody) to market a 16-year-old girl like this?
Forget Hannah Montana – where have all the Kathleen Hannas gone? *sigh*
Miley needs to find herself a kick-ass feminist mentor and ditch her creepy old daddy.
As Stromboli said to Pinocchio, “I will push you in the public eye.” I would work her like a rented mule while she’s still a money factory. Seriously now, I’m with your 21-year-old cousin. Miley Cyrus is not of the world I live in.
Why is there a Trojan Ecstasy ad on this page?
The first time I started to think about child exploitation in a broader sense(apart from sexual abuse) was after saw the documentary, My Kid Could Paint That. Adults should always be mindful of their privilege and avoid using kids for personal gain. It may begin innocently enough, but it’s a very slippery slope.
Miley is a hoowah.
I have been a fan of Billy Ray’s since 1992, before Miley was even born and I have watched her and her siblings grow up. Billy Ray is a great Dad and whoever believes otherwise just doesn’t know what they are talking about. They are a close, devoted and supportive family. Please don’t believe otherwise…
People dont really know this family and its articles like this that give the wrong impression. Billy Ray loves his family and has high moral values.I have known and met the family at shows and fan club parties since 1994. Miley makes up her own mind about things. Miley worked very hard to get where she is. None was just given to her.
I have been a long time Billy Ray fan & first met Miley when she was 9 months old. I have watched her grown up over the years. SHE was the one who wanted a career in show business & Billy Ray tried to talk her out of it because he knew how cruel people could be. They are a close knit family & don’t let anyone tell you different! All this Billy Ray & Miley bashing really gets old. People are just so damn jealous.
Billy Ray is a great dad and loves all his children.To call this Christian man a pimp is just sick.He does not deserve this.You owe him an apology but I won’t hold my breath.
The photos in Elle magazine of Miley Cyrus are beautifully done. Miley is a teenager and a very talented and beautiful one at that. I’ve actually been a fan of her dad’s since 1992 and have watched Miley grow up. The Cyrus Family is a loving Christian family and have raised their children to be the same. Billy Ray is one of the nicest people you will ever meet and is a friend to his children as well as a great parent. Unless you actually know someone, I don’t think it is right to pass judgment and say such mean and nasty things.
Uncyclopedia.com has this to say…
According to Harvard Professor of Social History Miley Ray Cyrus, PETA began in the dawn of the 1980’s when people demanded something new to complain about. It was founded by actor Ingrid “Jamie” Newkirk in 1980 as an civil-strike faction of Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin. Newkirk is best known for her role as the Chicken Lady on In Living Color, and as the young Captain in the 2009 prequel to Star Trek.
IP check? TIA.
Miley works very very hard at her career. It gets really old people bashing Billy Ray. He loves all his children & they are a close christian & loving family. I have know him for a long time & he is one of the nicest people you could ever meet. He supports Miley because this is all she ever wanted to do as a little girl. He gave up a lot to let her follow her dreams. He tried to talk her out of this because he knows how cruel this business can be and wanted to protect her from the heartaches. That’s what GOOD father’s do. Do not go judging someone you do not even know. I challenge everyone to Listen to “Somebody Said A Prayer” by Billy Ray…then you will know what kind of person he is. And then you will want to give him an “AMEN”!!!
As another fan of Billy Ray’s for 17 years, I can vouch for the truth of other fan comments here. Billy Ray is a carefully honest and supportive parent of all of his children. Also, the implication that his own career is in any way dependent upon Miley’s or has faltered is completely false. This is one reason you are now hearing from his fans. Another of his recent songs from which you would be able to learn truth about Billy Ray is “Ready, Set, Don’t Go.”
As someone who has cycled between mild bemusement and outright contempt since Billy Ray had his novelty hit in 1992, I find it hard to believe that a nation can take him seriously when he portrays a medical doctor on TV.
These comments from “fans” are hilarious.
Now the Miley Cyrus is approaching the age of consent, her sexuality is ripe for marketing. I don’t think there’s any question that she’s being “groomed.” The only thing that’s even mildly surprising is how transparent her father’s motives are.
I am going to come out very strongly AGAINST the person who stated these photos are ‘beautifully done’. That person, obviously is not a parent and does not have a daughter. This Elle potfolio is smut perpetuated by bottom feeders. Anyone who doesnt agree is delusional.
Jake: I gotta hand it to you. You sure figured out a way to broaden the demographics of visitors to this site. Maybe we can get the newbies to weigh in on the message boards?
Hey Gail B., Shirley, et al: What about the Butthole Surfers?
I’m curious how this works, so I pose this totally serious question: Obviously these “fans” are writing the same thing with slightly different phrasing over and over; is this the work of one person or do fan clubs have a standard defense-of-celebrity protocol where they have an approved letter that they all tweak and send out? Anyone? Anyone?
Yeah, it seems a little fishy. Maybe we can get an answer from these fan(s). While they’re at it, maybe they can explain exactly how classy and Christian Miley’s stripper pole dance in short shorts on top of an ice cream cart at the Teen Choice awards was.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/10/miley-cyrus-teen-choice-p_n_255338.html
I’m another forty year old, Christmas sweater wearing, 16 cat having Billy Ray fan (since 1992)and I just had to chime in. Miley Cyrus works very hard to get where she is, almost as hard as I do answering the phones at the Medical Prosthesis supplies office where I work (when I’m not too busy downloading Kitten wallpapers and Inspirational screensavers.) Billy’s got plenty of moral values, which is important to me. If I could actually get a man to touch me long enough to have children, I would want more people like him in the world setting an example for them. Let’s hear a big “Amen” for Billy and Miley! God bless!
BRC is just a sad sad man…i dont thin Christian values would be pimping his daughter like this…and why is it that all these “fans” have supposedly “known” Miley since she was a baby…sounds like a cult thing
hmmm, nice of you to repost the photos and perpetuate the sexualization of children in our media, Jake!
Your 21 year old cousin speaks the truth here. Why are you all interested in this in the first place? I’ll guess it’s because every image we see, day in and day out, is that the sexually attractive female is young, smooth, lithe, with unblemished skin, thin, long-legged in proportion to their body, and wearing fuck-me heels as they lay vulnerably stretched out on a table, awaiting our arrival. Is there any doubt that that image coincides with the characteristics of a 15 year old girl?
respectfully, (and knowing that no, this is not your intended thought process on a conscious level),
Tart
Tart, I just got very aroused reading your post. Any chance you can write more, and possibly include some pictures? Thanks!
HELLO! MENTAL HEALTH CHECK TIME! 1. Healthy people are able to see a clear distinction between reality and fantasy. 2. Often, healthy people have “unhealthy thoughts” but they are quickly discarded as such and not given creedence due to their ‘fantastical’ nature.
All this clamoring about deviant behavior of parents and minors leads me to believe that there are a lot of sick people out there as they are validating their fantasies of sick behavior as being real. IOW, to assume this ‘pimping’ and ‘whoring’ is the nature of what is going on here speaks clearly that those who think it’s true are having trouble discerning reality from fiction. I strongly suggest that they spend some time reflecting on themselves and why it is that they perceive this sick behavior where others see only beauty, love, family ties, and the miracle of children and their maturation. Last I checked,Love was the quintessential expression of gratitude of being alive. I’m guessing everyone who left a comment has parents. Thus, they’re here because, well I don’t want to offend anyone so..i won’t mention that horrid unGodly act that got us all here. That would be admitting were all actually spawn of Satan…C’mon people, get healthy and stop reveling in your deviance under the guise of puritanism.
” Obviously these “fans” are writing the same thing with slightly different phrasing over and over; is this the work of one person…”
That’s why I suggested a check of the IP addresses…that would answer the question.
Jonas: Shieldsy Brooks and Paula Abghoul are the same. The rest are unique. For real.
Tim I.: C’mon, get off your high horse. I don’t need Jake’s rant on Billy Ray Cyrus to remind me that I am one sick puppy.
Hahaha Tim I, you’ve obviously never read my blog, darlin :)
And then daddy has her emerge from a mobile home to do some pole dancing on the Teen Choice Awards? Classy!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/10/miley-cyrus-teen-choice-p_n_255338.html
Didn’t Chris Rock make a joke about this. Something like, “Keep my baby off the pole!”
Little Timmy: I was referring to the others. You’re quite healthy in your sickness, assuming there’s no behavioral compulsions that are out of your control. Kinda like the way your name gets me aroused with all kinds of disturbed fantasies. Besides, I guess my real point was that Billy’s family affairs are a poor, if not unrelated, example of parents pimping their kids through the media. I think the cases where it’s inappropriate, perhaps even criminal, are exclusively among the lesser-knowns (specifically, not relatively) and unknowns. Regardless of how the Cyrus’ got there, they’re an elite show-biz family and the rules are different for them.
And it’s a low horse. My high horse is in the shop getting extensions.
“Jonas: Shieldsy Brooks and Paula Abghoul are the same. The rest are unique. For real.”
Wow – Miley has an interweb strike force!
Billy is without a doubt pimping his two beautiful God given children like prostitutes and whores of the now immoral country music and celebrity industries. As he is directly responsible for his offspring, if he ever gets to heaven, he will have to answer for his actions.
His girls are completely innocent at this point of their corrupted condition that their father has created.
Billy is without a doubt pimping his two beautiful God given children like prostitutes and whores of the now immoral country music and celebrity industries. As he is directly responsible for his offspring, if he ever gets to heaven, he will have to answer for his actions.
His girls are completely innocent at this point of their corrupted condition that their father has created.
UPDATE:
16-year-old can be seen giving a 44-year-old man a lap dance and humping the adult in a suggestive dance on the net. But Billy said there was nothing inappropriate in her doing this with an adult. So much for being such a “moral christian” that some of you claim that Billy is (not).
Dear father of a whore Billy Ray Cyrus,
Your dirty slut daughter is an embarrasment to the whole state of Tennessee. But hey… like father, like daughter right?
Unless you fully denounce your offspring you are an accomplice to smut.
Now it’s seven years later (2017) guess what billy ray hasn’t had a hit but has two younger sisters of miley in his stable to exploit, I can only hope miley straightens up to protect her younger sibs about the dark side of fame Brc gives me the creeps. ..i? An adult, I did briefly see miles exploitation backstage sex video, was not turned on,instead I saw a sad desperate quick tryst in a sleazy backroom of stage in a town in the middle of nowhere. ..