Perez Hilton defends Miley Cyrus photo

For celebrity blogger Perez Hilton, posting a photograph of a starlet exiting a vehicle with her lady parts exposed is nothing new -- just ask Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan. But when his Twitter account linked to a similar shot of Miley Cyrus, who won't celebrate her 18th birthday until later this year, he quickly was accused of going too far.

The Twitter account bearing Perez Hilton's name reportedly posted a link to such a photo of Cyrus early Monday morning (6/15), with the tease, "If you are easily offended, do NOT click here. Oh, Miley! Warning: truly not for the easily offended!"

The Twitter post and photo reportedly were removed a short time later, but stories quickly spread from other gossip blogs to the websites of major media outlets like CBS News and USA Today.

Because Cyrus is underage, authorities would likely consider the posting of a nude image of her to be child pornography. But Hilton, in a video posted to his gossip site Tuesday (6/15), said the controversy was a fake one. He donned a fake fur coat -- and no pants -- to make his case.

"Do you think Miley is that stupid to be out in public without panties? Sure, I may nickname her 'Slutty Cyrus.' But she's not a moron!" he said in the video. "And also, do you think I'm stupid enough to post a photo of Miley if she's not wearing any underwear down there? No. Sure I like to be controversial, but I don't want to go to jail. If you look at other photos from that paparazzi set, Miley was clearly wearing underwear. Clearly. The reason I linked to that photo is because I thought she was exiting this car in a very unladylike fashion. And you know, I like to encourage Miley to be ladylike."

The controversy comes as Cyrus takes criticism for fostering a more sexualized image in recent months, such as when she simulated a lesbian kiss with a female dancer during her performance this month on "Britain's Got Talent," and did a brief pole dance in the video for her new single, "Can't Be Tamed." She also was filmed giving a lap dance to a 44-year-old movie producer when she was just 16 years old.

Cyrus happens to be promoting a new album, "Can't be Tamed," which is due in stores next Monday (6/21), a day earlier than initially scheduled.