Todd Williamson/WireImage, Lester Cohen/WireImage for EGPAF
Shameless celebrity blogger Perez Hilton appeared on The Joy Behar Show on Thursday night to tell his side of the Miley Cyrus photo controversy -- i.e., the upskirt photo he linked to on Twitter, which could potentially land him in jail for distributing child pornography. By now, it's been made clear that the photo was not as obscene was first reported; Cyrus was wearing underwear, and Hilton did not photoshop or pixellate the picture to make it seem otherwise. It's just an unflattering (and suggestive) paparazzi shot of the seventeen-year-old pop star exiting a car. Still, you'd think the threat of being legally declared a sex offender would give Hilton some pause. But you'd be wrong. Speaking to Behar on her HLN show, the blogger adamantly defended his actions, saying he'd do it all over again.
Perez Hilton's defense boiled down to three arguments:
1.There's nothing wrong with the photo. Hilton swears that he posted the photo, not because it looked like Cyrus was going commando, but because "it was showing Miley getting out of the car in an unladylike fashion... and I just thought it was funny." Behar, who has seen the photo, testified that Cyrus was wearing underwear -- but said the photo was still suggestive enough to be inappropriate. Which brings us to Hilton's next point...
2. Perez didn't actually post the picture on his website. Hilton pointed out repeatedly that he'd only linked to the photo from his Twitter account; it never even appeared on his famous website, because it was taken by "the one photo agency I don't have a deal with." Therefore, even if the photo were obscene, Hilton doesn't believe he'd be the one at fault. This is one of those tricky new-millenium dilemmas, but Perez's third defense is a very old one...
3. Miley deserved it. Although Hilton swore he'd never knowingly distribute obscene photographs of a minor, he was also quick to say that it's "not any worse than what Miley herself has been doing lately." That's right: because Cyrus dresses sexy in her videos and gets secret-videotaped dirty dancing, an obscene photo taken without her permission shouldn't be a big deal. She's practically asking to be exploited and objectified by perverts, right?
Ugh. While we're pretty sure this whole debacle will blow over soon (although Hilton may have lost some advertisers for good), we're disgusted by the way Perez is handling himself. Watching Hilton put the blame on Cyrus might be the last straw: Miley is 17, and Perez is 32. The teen singer may be making a few questionable choices lately, but it's not illegal for teenagers to act stupid (or else all of us would have criminal records!). It is illegal for adults to knowingly exploit teenagers. And yes, even "Can't Be Tamed" Miley is still just a teenager experimenting with her boundaries. Maybe she could teach Hilton a lesson or two; he clearly doesn't know what boundaries are.
What do you think of Perez Hilton's explanation? Chime in below!
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