Leibovitz Defends Provocative Miley Cyrus Photos

April 28, 2008— -- Annie Leibovitz, the photographer who shot provocative photos of Miley Cyrus for the June issue of Vanity Fair, is defending her depiction of the 15-year-old star.

"I'm sorry that my portrait of Miley has been misinterpreted," she said in a statement released by Vanity Fair. "Miley and I looked at fashion photographs together and we discussed the picture in that context before we shot it. The photograph is a simple, classic portrait, shot with very little makeup, and I think it is very beautiful."

Sunday, Cyrus said she's "embarrassed" by the photos and apologized to her fans.

"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," she said in a statement. "I never intended for any of this to happen and I apologize to my fans who I care so deeply about."

Cyrus, the daughter of country music star Billy Ray Cyrus, is the singing and acting sensation known to her legions of teenage fans from the Disney Channel series "Hannah Montana."

In one of the photos, Cyrus is shown from the side, with most of her back bare, clutching what appears to be a satin sheet loosely around herself. In another, she's draped over the lap of her dad, baring her midriff.

While Cyrus said she's embarrassed by the photos in her Sunday statement, in her interview with the magazine that accompanies the spread, she called the back-baring shot "really artsy" but not "in a skanky way" and said "You can't say no to Annie."

The Disney Channel, after learning of the Vanity Fair photo spread and article also issued a statement critical of the magazine.

"Unfortunately, as the article suggests, a situation was created to deliberately manipulate a 15-year-old in order to sell magazines," the statement said.

Vanity Fair representative Beth Kseniak defended the magazine's use of the photos.

"Miley's parents and/or minders were on the set all day," she said in a statement. "Since the photo was taken digitally, they saw it on the shoot and everyone thought it was a beautiful and natural portrait of Miley. In fact, when Bruce Handy interviewed Miley, he asked her about the photo and she was very cheerful about it and thought it was perfectly fine."