Miley Cyrus (third from left), boyfriend Justin Gaston (fourth from left) and several other partygoers raised the ire of the Asian-American community with this allegedly racist photo leaked to the Internet

Star claims tabloids are looking for next ‘bad girl’

By Matthew B. Zeidman

HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 2/6/09 – Miley Cyrus needs to learn to walk the other way when someone shoves a camera in her face outside of the red carpet, even if that person isn’t herself. On Thursday, the legacy entertainer was forced to defend a photo in which it appeared she and some fellow partygoers were acting racist by slanting their eyes next to a man of Asian descent.

“In NO way was I making fun of any ethnicity!” Cyrus wrote in a statement posted to MileyWorld.com, in which she insisted the snapshot, which cropped up Monday on TMZ, was taken out of context. “I was simply making a goofy face. When did that become newsworthy?”

In a page right out of “South Park,” the “Hannah Montana” star claimed to be at the center of a media conspiracy to brand her the “new bad girl” in light of the fact pop singer and tabloid magnet Britney Spears was “back on top of her game.”

Cyrus attempted to distance the incident from prior photo scandals, including leaked semi-nude photos and a controversial “Vanity Fair” spread, by pointing out she had been quick to apologize for what she’d considered bad judgment in the past.

“In NO WAY do I want to disappoint any of you, but when I have made mistakes in the past, I feel like I’ve owned up to them and apologized,” Cyrus said.

Asian-Pacific-American association OCA criticized the photo in a statement Monday, accusing the Disney star of racism and requesting an apology on her part.

Cyrus most recently apologized for not wearing a helmet after being photographed riding her bike without one, but also defended her actions, claiming that while it was safer to wear headgear, most children in her neighborhood forewent such protection.