Pimp Fight: Disney vs. Vanity Fair
Where is Travis Bickle when we need him?
This is a little far removed from movies and a little too close to the kind of salacious Entertainment Tonight/TMZ nonsense I hate so much, but it’s all over and since it involves Disney, it plays.
As you probably know, Annie Leibovitz took some creepily sexualized photos of teen Disney star Miley Cyrus for the upcoming issue of Vanity Fair. Disney is in a snit over it and Cyrus herself wrote a letter to fans expressing her embarrassment.
You can read about the whole kerfuffle in the NY Times and even catch a peep of one of the offending photos, but this isn’t really about whether or not Vanity Fair did anything wrong. My beef is over Disney’s nerve.
Says Disney spokeswoman, Patti McTeague, “Unfortunately, as the article suggests, a situation was created to deliberately manipulate a 15-year-old in order to sell magazines.” Because, you know, Disney would never dream of deliberately manipulating a 15-year-old in order to sell concert tickets, DVDs, or TV show ad time.
Exploitation is exploitation. Disney’s just pissed because this interferes with the phony wholesomeness they’re shilling and images of angry parents standing around bonfires stoked by Hannah Montana merchandise keep them awake at night.
Pimps are pimps and for Disney to act like their hands are clean in this is a joke.
And don’t get me started on the kid’s parents.
Filed under: Opinion
Related Posts: - Ollie Johnston, Disney Animator: 1912 - 2008
- New ‘Princess and the Frog’ Images
- Francis Ford Coppola’s Declaration of Independence
- Journey to the Center of LAFF
- Review: Enchanted (2007) **
The Travis photo is a nice touch.
Good God! Now that a wholesome role model for little girls has revealed herself as a slattern of the highest order all hell will break loose. Girls everywhere will be prancing about topless, albeit with their chests covered, or wearing outer garments that reveal the presence of green underwear!
And here I was thinking that the decline of the American empire was going to be rooted in national debt, over dependence on oil, the politicization of the public service and the judiciary, the lack of sufficient regulatory controls over corporations and financial institutions, special interest penetration of the political process in a way that would be considered corrupt in third world countries, gross social inequalities and acceptance of all of the above by the American people as somehow the price one pays for “democracy”.
Who needs to think when the media happily offers up such distractions?
End of rant by bloody foreigner :-)
Start on the kid’s parents, please.
What’s truly sleazy is all the people around her deluded into thinking this wouldn’t have a negative reaction. It’s an insight into a truly elitist and greedy myopic view of the world. But that’s the Disney brand writ large.
Heh. Disney’s a pimp.
The cynic in me isn’t buying it. It’s all working out exactly as they planned. Publicity for everyone. None of them are above exploitation, they’re just above admitting they’re all in on it.
Honestly, though, my biggest criticism is the pics are far from Annie Liebowitz’ best. I was surprised to hear she did them because I just didn’t think the two I’ve seen at least on TV were very good.
I think it was Johnny Galecki on The View yesterday who said something like, “Not sure what’s so controversial. Were people not aware Miley Cyrus had a shoulder?”
Like a lot things, “sexualized” is the mind of the beholder.
I’m with jennybee. Anne Liebowitz’s diabolical plot to surreptitiously slip these photos into Vanity Fair with nobody noticing has failed!
And suddenly I’m doing something I never thought possible: namely, giving a shit about Miley Cyrus.
If Miley Cyrus wants to be embarrassed about some photos, she should start with these snapshots.
Gee, it’s almost as if Miley’s most recent personal indiscretion is being overshadowed by a different trumped-up controversy that can be blamed on somebody else.
As far as I’m concerned, she’s being taken advantage of by all the adults around her who only have their self-interest in mind. Disney, VF, her parents, the lot of them.
In a couple of years if/when she turns out to be a complete trainwreck like Ms. Spears, everyone will pile on and enjoy tearing her down. It’s what we do and it’s damaged.
Love this, Ryan: “Gee, it’s almost as if Miley’s most recent personal indiscretion is being overshadowed by a different trumped-up controversy that can be blamed on somebody else.”
You’re so good.