The Miley Cyrus photos: Racy or artistic?

Last week, photos of Miley Cyrus surfaced in which she was playfully flashing her lime green bra (oh no, Hannah Montana wears a bra!). But now the tween star is stirring controversy again, this time for not wearing a bra (or a shirt, for that matter).

In photos for the June issue of Vanity Fair, taken by the renowned photographer Annie Leibovitz, the 15-year-old singer posed topless, though draped in a sheet, exposing her bare shoulders. Originally, Cyrus seemed pleased with the shots: In a caption running with the photo spread, she is quoted as saying, “I think it’s really artsy. It wasn’t in a skanky way. Annie took, like, a beautiful shot, and I thought that was really cool. That’s what she wanted me to do, and you can’t say no to Annie.”

But now Cyrus is singing a different tune. In a statement released through her publicist, the singer says, “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. I never intended for any of this to happen and I apologize to my fans who I care so deeply about.”

Disney is claiming that Vanity Fair created a situation to”deliberately manipulate a 15-year-old in order to sell magazines.”(Just to add, Disney would know a thing or two about using a15-year-old to sell a product, as Cyrus has been merchandised within aninch of her life. Hannah Montana ruffled hobo purse, anyone?) For their part, a Vanity Fairspokeswoman says Cyrus’ parents and/or minders were there for theentire shoot, which was done digitally, and the shots were approved ofon the spot. Leibovitz has also defended the photo saying, “Thephotograph is a simple, classic portrait, shot with very little makeup,and I think it is very beautiful.”

But really, what’s the big deal? Last year, much racier shots of a Disney star (High School Musical’s Vanessa Hudgens) surfaced, and did that girl’s career disappear? Nope — she’s signed up for High School Musical 3.

What do you think, PopWatchers? Is Miley Cyrus’ career doomed? Are you returning your Hannah Montana tickets? Or is this just much ado about nothing?