Miley Cyrus Photographer Thinks Portrait is "Beautiful"

With so much drama surrounding the Miley Cyrus Vanity Fair shoot, photographer Annie Leibovitz has finally piped in - offering her perspective on the controversial "topless" shot.

"I'm sorry that my portrait of Miley has been misinterpreted," Leibovitz said in a statement issued earlier today. "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."

Of the "topless" photo, Miley immediately issued a statement to People magazine telling: "My goal in my music and my acting is always to make people happy. For Vanity Fair, I was so honored and thrilled to work with Annie. 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."

Not to be left out of the press frenzy, a Vanity Fair spokeswoman told of the photo in question: "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."

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Enjoy the pictures of Miley on her Vanity Fair shoot with Billy Ray and Annie.