Annie Lennox: Miley is Pushing Toward Porn

First, it was Cher and Sinead O'Connor who decided to speak out in regards to Miley Cyrus's performances. But we all know Sinead's a bit whacky, right? Now it's Annie Lennox, a singer and performer who commands respect. The rock icon took her to Facebook page over the weekend to comment on the Rihannas and Mileys (although she was careful not to name any names outright), writing: "As long as there's booty to make money out of, it will be bought and sold," adding "I'm disturbed and dismayed by the recent spate of overtly sexualised performances and videos. You know the ones I'm talking about. It seems obvious that certain record companies are peddling highly-styled pornography with musical accompaniment."

She went on to state:

"It's depressing to see how these performers are so eager to push this new level of low. Their assumption seems to be that misogyny--utilised and displayed through oneself is totally fine, as long as you are the one creating it. As if it's all justified by how many millions of dollars and U tube [sic] hits you get from behaving like pimp and prostitute at the same time. It's a glorified and monetized form of self harm."

Annie Lennox, who says she's liberal and left-leaning, is worried about boundaries and that this is just about a bunch of men in the entertainment industry to make a cheap buck. She later gave an interview to BBC Radio (it starts around 39:00 minutes), in which she talks about her conflict over the fact that she wants to have a way of controlling boundaries between porn and entertainment. As she says:

"There's a big difference between a 7-year-old watching influential people doing things that are pornographic--there's a difference between what's pornographic and what's entertainment--I don't think there's one person not saying that, with this barrage, how do you stop your kids from being exposed to it? I'm sure I talk for milions of parents. I'm all for freedom of expression; I'm all for boundary pushing..."

You can tell Lennox, who admits she's a "boundary pusher" as well, is worried that people will see her as moralistic and Puritanical and trying to censor artists, so she adds: "There's nothing wrong with sexuality and sensuality. I think these, they're beautiful. I think a lot of what they do is fantastic. You don't want to see your 7-year-old girls twerking all over the place." When asked about the sexually explicit photos that newspapers and media outlets have used to illustrate stories about Lennox's statements, she went in another direction: "Not so explicit, I haven't got my legs wide open; I'm not bending over showing my rear end; I'm not simulating sex; and I'm not simulating masturbation." The hosts then point out they were pointing out Miley and Rihanna pics, not ones of her.

So is Annie right? Is Miley being exploited and this is all too far?