PREACH IT! Miley Cyrus grinds away at that annoying good-girl cage

For a while now, Miley Cyrus has been trying to break out of her sparkly pink Barbie straitjacket and get a little dirty. Her initial efforts have not served her well.

First she spent a few unfortunate seconds next to a pole during a Teen Choice Awards performance -- a decision that put her daddy on the defensive.

Then she signed on for the Nicholas Sparks vehicle “The Last Song,” promising to play an “out there” character with serious “issues.” But instead we got an essentially nice girl who shoplifted once, totally regrets it and now wants nothing more than to rescue little baby sea turtles.

Now, turns out, those last bits were just practice. Cyrus has officially bent all of her dark will toward Britnification, and her redoubled effort is finally starting to pay off. First she released an official video for the single "Can't Be Tamed." Miley goes the standard route, gyrating with both girls and guys, dancing some Britney Spears-style choreography, rocking the cleavage, thrashing on her back. And just in case her message isn't clear enough, Cyrus plays the part of a rare bird. Who breaks out of her cage. Get it? Get it? GET IT?

And today comes the final step in Miley’s matriculation. A second video has emerged ...

... a much less official one, courtesy of TMZ. The video was shot last summer, during the wrap party for "The Last Song." In what appears to be surreptitiously shot footage, Miley does some serious grinding with her 45-year-old producer, Adam Shankman.

For the record, it’s how millions of teenage girls dance at private parties when they know their parents aren’t around. But for Cyrus, who got famous splitting her time between a Disney kids show and proclaiming her love for Jesus on Twitter, the video is an official scandal.

Mazel tov, Miley! Our little girl has struggled for months to prove she really is teen jailbait, and now she’s finally proved it. Let’s celebrate with another party! Don’t forget your camera phone.

-- Leslie Gornstein

Photo: Miley Cyrus with boyfriend-costar Liam Hemsworth, left, and producer Adam Shankman at the premiere of "The Last Song" in Hollywood on March 25, 2010. Credit: Kevin Winter / Getty Images. 

Click and scroll down for more on Miley Cyrus, or the tour the sassy, steamy Preach It! archives. Want the headlines? Follow the Ministry of Gossip on Twitter (we're @LATcelebs) or swing by our Facebook page and 'like' us right into your news feed.

Comments

[CDZ from the Ministry]

@Jack B. Quick: Christie D'Zurilla here from the blog.

The wrap party was held in Georgia.

http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20299737,00.html

[K]

Miley Cyrus is 17 and she thinks she's "all grown up"?? And she thinks this is how real grownups behave in public? Some do behave like this, of course, but most actual mature people don't. Furthermore, in the United States, 17 is NOT an adult, either chronologically or legally. In pushing way too hard to be sexy and grown up way too soon, Miley is going down a potentially lethal road a la Lindsay Lohan. Applying makeup with a snow shovel, dressing like a hooker, bumping and grinding her way to early self-destruction. Good grief girl, SLOW DOWN!

[Sav]

All the kids are doing it with kids their own age, not 45-year-old producers. Gay or straight, he's a middle-aged man and any normal parent would go postal on him. Shoot, any normal parent wouldn't allow their teenaged daughter to call a man his age her friend. Where are her parents

[Yo]

I'm not defending Miley, but you Silly old-people, it's not a lap-dance. You adults very well know what a lap dance is. Its a teenage club-dancing trend called "dubbing". You folks also call it grinding. But its no lap-dance. Please stop calling it that.

[Nikky Raney]

He is a 44-year-old man, Think about it in that perspective. It is inappropriate for a 44-year-old man to accept a lap dance from a 16-year-old girl, and even more inappropriate for a 44-year-old man to encourage this behavior. He's old enough to be her father, and I am sure that if they weren't celebs and you heard about a 44 year old man receiving a lap dance from a 16 year old you would have some negative things to say.

[Jenn]

I saw the video and it's creepy that a 45 year old man who should know better let a CHILD grind her butt on his lap. She's 16 and one can understand she didn't think anything was wrong with that...she was just dancing but Mr. Shankman is a pervert who was probably the adult that the Cyrus parents entrusted with their child. If he wasn't a rich movie executive I think the police would be investigating it.

[Leon]

Wow! Didn't realize this was for fun. I thought she was auditioning for her next movie.

[Megan]

Dear Miley [if you are reading this],
You are a beautiful and talented young woman. And God loves you.
-Megan-

[Jewel]

This is sick and creepy and typical of Hollywood. Just because Shankman is gay does not give him the excuse to allow a 16-year-old grinding away at him. It is TOTALLY YUCKY and shows irresponsible behavior on his part. If he were a straight guy, he'd be arrested for lewd behavior with an underaged child. Shankman is the adult here and should have used better judgment.
Miley Cyrus is trying desperately hard to grow up fast, with the approval of her parents. In fact, her father, Billy Rae, saw nothing wrong with Miley grinding away at a 44-year-old gay producer. So she is not to blame as much as the adults in her life: her parents and in this case, Adam Shankman