Hannah Montana Voted Worst Celebrity Influence of 2009
Miley Cyrus' popularity suffers after several controversial missteps.
Rebuked by her fan base, singer Miley Cyrus has recently earned the dubious title of 2009's "Worst Celebrity Influence."
Based upon an online survey administered last month by AOL's JustSoYouKnow.com, nearly 50,000 participants between the ages of 9-15 years of age edged Cyrus ahead of other celebrities to be the bunch's "worst."
Despite grabbing slightly more than 40 percent of the "Worst Celebrity Influence" vote, Cyrus finished fourth anyways for "Favorite Female Artist" behind Taylor Swift, Katy "I Kissed a Girl" Perry and the No. 1-ranked Beyoncẻ.
It still remains unclear why tweens and teenagers suddenly turned upon the Disney Channel starlet. Yet this year alone, the 16-year-old Cyrus has made multiple controversial decisions from dating a 20-year-old underwear model to pole-dancing at the Teen Choice Awards that have made concerned parents rethink Miley's idolization.
Since 2006, Cyrus has sold more than 7 million albums, designed her own fashion line, and earned more than $154 million at theaters worldwide for Hannah Montana: The Movie.
"I think Miley is in an interesting space where she is trying to graduate from being 'Hannah Montana' and a Disney channel celebrity, coming into her own, and having a career beyond Disney," Stephanie Cohen, editor of JustSoYouKnow.com, told a Reuters reporter. "I think her fans still want her to be the sweet Hannah Montana and she is trying to age up ... Parents are definitely resisting it."
Singer Kanye West finished a distant second, getting 19 percent of the "Worst Celebrity Influence" vote, but still won the "Most Shocking Moment of 2009" category for interrupting Taylor Swift's acceptance speech at the Grammy's last September.
