Annie Leibovitz defends racy shot of Miley Cyrus

(CNN) - Annie Leibovitz on Monday defended her provocative photograph for Vanity Fair magazine of teen heartthrob Miley Cyrus - aka Hannah Montana - who has expressed embarrassment about the pose.

"I'm sorry that my portrait of Miley has been misinterpreted," the celebrity photographer said in a written statement. "Miley and I looked at fashion photographs together and we discussed the picture in that context before we shot it. The photograph is a simple, classic portrait, shot with very little makeup, and I think it is very beautiful."

The statement came a day after the 15-year-old apologized to her fans for her participation in the photo shoot, which took place February 9 in Calabasas, California.

"My goal in my music and my acting is always to make people happy," Cyrus said in a written statement. "For Vanity Fair, I was so honored and thrilled to work with Annie. I took part in a photo shoot that was supposed to be 'artistic' and now, seeing the photographs and reading the story, I feel so embarrassed. The pictures of me on the Internet were silly, inappropriate shots."