Annie Leibovitz finds topless Miley Cyrus pic 'very beautiful'

Washington, Apr 29 : American portrait photographer Annie Leibovitz has defended the pictures she shot of Miley Cyrus for Vanity Fair.

Leibovitz was sorry that the photo was taken for a nude shot, instead of for the art that she was trying to portray and has spoken out about the same.

"I'm sorry that my portrait of Miley has been misinterpreted," USmagazine.com quoted her as having said in a statement.

"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," she said.

Cyrus, who is 15-years-old, had issued a statement saying she was "embarrassed" over the photos and even apologized to her fans.

The Disney Channel that Cyrus is working for claimed that the magazine "manipulated" her, but a Vanity Fair rep has said otherwise.

"Miley's parents and/or minders were on the set all day. Since the photo was taken digitally, they saw it on the shoot and everyone thought it was a beautiful and natural portrait of Miley," the rep said.

A spokesperson for the Christian Coalition of America, Michele Combs, told US mag that Disney should reprimand the Hannah Montana singer for the photo.

Combs also added that Leibovitz has always been doing things that are a little racy and that Cyrus should not have agreed to it.

"She has a reputation for doing racy things ... Miley should have thought this out before she agreed to go in front of Annie," she added.

ANI