Miley to skip scheduled Disney red carpet

updated 8:43 p.m. ET May 1, 2008

ORLANDO, Fla. - Miley Cyrus made an appearance at Disney World, but won’t be sticking around long enough for the media to join her.

Cyrus will not be attending Friday’s red carpet event at the resort as planned, Walt Disney World spokesman Gary Buchanan said Thursday. It would have been her first public event since Vanity Fair published photos this week that have thrown her status as a role model for young girls into question.

For weeks she’d been scheduled to appear at the media party, along with dozens of other Disney Channel stars in town to film the “Disney Channel Games,” a charity competition. Buchanan did not elaborate on why Cyrus is no longer expected.

The 15-year-old star of “Hannah Montana” did spend some time at the resort on Thursday, however, signing autographs for children and taking photos with Mickey and Minnie Mouse, images Disney provided to The Associated Press show. Cyrus was dressed in a modified sports jersey, rolled-up cutoff jeans and yellow sneakers.

The Vanity Fair photos, showing Cyrus’ bare shoulders and back, were taken by renowned celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz. She and the magazine defended the pictures, saying the singer, her parents and her handlers approved of the images during the shoot.

Cyrus said earlier this week that she was “embarrassed” by the pictures and apologized to fans.

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