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Miley Worse Than Britney?

miley.JPGWhat would Hannah Montana say?

Reigning teen queen Miley Cyrus has been named as the “worst celebrity of the year” by the readers of AOL’s teen-centric pop culture website, jsyk.com, beating out such celebrities as Kanye West and Britney Spears.

The results, at first glance, feel pretty bizarre. I mean, it’s hard to imagine Miley jumping up on stage and ripping a microphone away from someone during a live awards show, as Kanye did. And call me naive, but I just can’t quite picture her singing a suggestive song like Britney’s “3.” Not yet, anyway.

No, my guess is that Miley’s “worst celebrity” honors are a reflection of the oversized positive influence she’s had on tweens and teens. Youth, I think, can be surprisingly savvy when it comes to celebrities, and the antics of a Kanye West or a Britney Spears probably didn’t surprise them much. But Hannah Montana from the Disney Channel? Posing without a shirt in Vanity Fair and dancing around a pole on live television? That stung a bit: Like seeing an idolized older brother sneaking a smoke behind the garage.

Stephanie Cohen, who edits the jsyk.com site, believes that, “Some of her fans just don’t want her to grow up,” according to buddytv.com. But I think we should give Miley fans a bit more credit. Everyone grows up: Miley’s fan base probably understands that more than some. But not everyone feels their way to adulthood through the use of a stripper pole.