Miley Cyrus' provocative performance during Monday night's "Teen Choice Awards," in which she wore short shorts and boots and at one point straddled a pole, has set off a firestorm on the Internet over whether the act was appropriate for a 16-year-old entertainer in front of a youthful audience.
On YouTube and on Twitter, followers of the Disney Channel series "Hannah Montana" debated whether Miley was doing a pole dance on top of a moving ice cream pushcart or was simply hanging on to the pole for balance. Some found her sultry routine over the top for the Fox award show, which attracted 4 million viewers -- more than a quarter of whom are under age 18 themselves, according to Nielsen ratings.
Internet gossip columnist Perez Hilton dubbed the performance "the return of Slutty Cyrus," and an impromptu Twitter poll attracted more than 4,000 votes -- 65% of whom said she looked like a stripper.
This is not the first time the teen performer has been at odds with the image of the chaste pop star she portrays on TV. A 2008 Vanity Fair photograph of Miley draped in a satin sheet, her bare back and shoulders exposed to the camera, triggered criticism from parents about what they called the sexualization of the then-15-year-old. Miley issued a statement saying she was "embarrassed" by the Annie Leibovitz photo.
Miley's publicist and Disney Channel declined to comment on her "Teen Choice" performance of "Party in the USA." A Fox spokeswoman referred calls to the show's executive producer, Bob Bain, who could not be reached late Tuesday.
Internet video of the episode indicates a certain squeamishness on the part of the network, which kept the camera on Miley's face while she was straddling the pole. That full image was captured in still photographs.
Although Miley has signed to make a fourth season of "Hannah Montana," she is clearly contemplating the next phase of her career. She is currently making the feature film "The Last Song," which Disney hopes will be a breakout role for the young actress. Her 2008 solo album, "Breakout," sold more in its first week than the newly released soundtrack album from the third season of the show.
Not long ago, when a teenage performer wanted to make a transition to a more mature fan base, they picked a venue that signaled this career shift, appearing on a show like "Saturday Night Live." Miley chose a decidedly different path.
