Despite pic, Cyrus show will go on

Photographic evidence that teen star Miley Cyrus has skin on her back and shoulders won't keep Disney's pop princess off the stage at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Independence Day.
    Organizers of Provo's Stadium of Fire show, which Cyrus will headline, are not changing their plans in light of the revelation that the 15-year-old posed for arguably salacious photos running in the upcoming edition of Vanity Fair.
    "We've been assured it will be a family show from Miley's performance," Brad Pelo, senior executive producer for America's Freedom Foundation, said on Tuesday. "We don't expect anything different than what people have seen in the past from her."
    The dust-up began on Monday when Vanity Fair posted pictures of Cyrus, taken by famed photographer Annie Leibovitz, on the magazine's Web site. The photo that raised eyebrows the most showed Cyrus, her back and shoulders bare, wrapped in what looks like a satin sheet, all of which suggested nudity - though Cyrus showed as much skin in the halter-top gown she wore earlier this month as host of the CMT Music Awards.
    The ensuing media storm of tabloid headlines and cable-news coverage - what Women's Wear Daily dubbed "practiced outrage" - sent publicists into damage-control overdrive.
    The Disney Channel, for which Cyrus and her "Hannah Montana" sitcom and concert tour are a $1 billion moneymaker, said "a situation was created to deliberately manipulate a 15-year-old in order to sell magazines."
    Cyrus praised the photo in the accompanying Vanity Fair article: "I think it's really artsy," she told the magazine, but on Monday issued a statement that began, "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."
    Vanity Fair defended itself, saying in a statement that "Miley's parents and/or minders were on the set all day" and saw the digital image during the shoot. Leibovitz said the shot was "misinterpreted."
    Pelo said Stadium of Fire organizers have not received any complaints since the photos became public.
    But the photos disappointed Utah moms whose daughters are among Cyrus' fan base.
    "She's so cute and young and innocent," said Kim Toole, a Sandy mom who says she won't let her 9-year-old, Alexandria, see the photos. "You don't want her to end up like some of the other stars have, like Lindsay Lohan or Britney Spears."
    It's not the amount of bare skin, said Kristi Polatis of South Jordan, but what the photo suggests. "I think they're trying to portray her in a totally sexual way, when she's 15 years old."
    Polatis said the incident made her sad for her daughter, Matti, 11, who has Cyrus posters decorating her bedroom wall. "It's just sad for [my daughter] that someone she looked up to so much, a role model, is now doing things she knows she shouldn't do," Polatis said.
    spmeans@sltrib.com