Madonna defends Miley

Madonna has come to the defence of teenage US pop and telly star Miley 'daughter of Billy Ray' Cyrus after she took part in a slightly raunchy photo shoot for Vanity Fair. Fifteen year old Cyrus, best know for appearing in the title role in the Disney franchise 'Hannah Montana', has caused outrage in the US press because of the suggestive photos. Cyrus herself has apologised for the pics, and admitted the shoot had "embarrassed" her. But Madonna, an expert at pissing off more conservative Americans, told MTV that "everyone should just leave her alone", saying the pictures were "not a big deal" and adding: "People are just bored. Leave the poor girl alone. She's going to grow up soon, she's going to probably show her knees next - watch out". Disney have blamed Vanity Fair and their photographer, Annie Leibovitz, for the whole thing, saying earlier this week that they had "deliberately manipulated a 15-year-old in order to sell magazines".