Obit: Hannah Montana

In case you didn't know it, Hannah Montana is dead folks. 

This last weekend Miley Cyrus hosted Saturday Night Live. Honestly, she was good. Of course I’m worried about her. I’m a mom. No mom (especially of teen girls) can watch this young’ns transformation from Disney songstress/star to slutty-smut-muffin without cringing! She also announced that Hannah Montana had been “murdered.” So sad.

I actually believe she might live to regret those words. She joked about getting all kinds of letters from moms, a few of which I have seen posted via Facebook, regarding her crazy antics at the VMAs and I realized that I do have some thoughts about this.

First of all, Miley Cyrus can sing. She’s actually really good. If you listen to her and ignore the tramping around on video, she’s quite good. She can write music that’s catchy and entertaining. Her lyrics are heart-wrenching. She has a gift. And Disney is the one that allowed all this.

I think by “murdering” Hannah Montana, Miley is turning her back on the image that created her! That is going to be a mistake. She is creating a new image now, and I get her need to be viewed as a “real artist” and not a Disneyfied star, I get that, but really, Miley, do you really think it’s wise to turn your back on everything that made you? The reason you are getting letters from mothers is because you no longer represent anything we want our daughters to admire or aspire to! Your behavior on stage and screen is frightening and shocking, which might be what you want to kill that little good girl image we have of sweet Hannah Montana, but you can do that without having a public nervous breakdown!

Ever since “Can’t Be Tamed” came out Miley has been making a statement. She is trying very hard to get as far away from her Disney image as possible. And honestly, I don’t get it. Hannah was funny, with good comedic timing and even with insipid story lines and fluffy 30-minute dilemmas, Hannah created the Miley Cyrus marketability. Someday, Miley, I think you might be sorry you turned so foul.

I’m worried. I’m worried that like so many before you we will find you in rehab, washed up, washed out and maybe even dead. I worry that your desire to toss away the squeaky-clean image of sweet Hannah Montana you will toss a fan base that might save you. Your fans have grown up with you, but there are still those that are too young still to truly understand the mess you’re creating.

Do you really want to end up like Lindsay, or Brittney? Maybe you do. Britt’s rush to discard her clean image led to early motherhood and a stint on the Crazy list for some time. Do you want to be like Amanda Bynes and end up incarcerated, essentially, for serious crazy? These are your predecessors and look what happened to them when fame and celebrity got their hold on them.

Or, do you want to be like Melissa Joan Hart (who also had some trouble, but who knew?) who now has two sweet children, a relatively stable marriage and a sitcom? Maybe you want to be the next Madonna? I don’t know what your goals are, Miley, but the path you’re heading down makes me sad. Good luck to you and may you figure out who you are before things get too much more out of hand!