Miley Cyrus has revealed the backstage process of her topless Vanity Fair picture, which sent shockwaves through America in 2008.

Shot by the celebrated fashion photographer Annie Leibovitz, the image scandalously debuted when Miley was just 15 years old.

At the time, Miley was attempting to cultivate a more grown-up media image, flying in the face of the wholesome Disney Channel persona she first rode to stardom during the run of her claim-to-fame sitcom Hannah Montana.

Now, on her new Disney+ special Endless Summer Vacation (backyard sessions), Miley reflected on the fracas with the benefit of over a decade’s hindsight.

‘Everybody knows the controversy of the photo but they don’t really know the behind-the-scenes, which is always much more meaningful,’ she said.

Miley is strategically holding a sheet over her front in the topless image, which was published in black-and-white for the June 2008 issue.

Alongside a profile entitled Miley Knows Best, she was also pictured with her heartthrob father, the Achy Breaky Heart one-hit wonder Billy Ray Cyrus.

‘My little sister Noah was sitting on Annie’s lap and actually pushing the button of the camera taking the pictures,’ Miley revealed on the Disney+ special.

Clarifying that her ‘family was on set,’ Miley also noted that the shoot marked ‘the first time I ever wore red lipstick, because Pati Dubroff, who did my makeup, thought that that would be another element that would divide me from Hannah Montana.’

Mulling the picture 15 years later, Miley argued that the disconnect between that snap and the Hannah Montana personality was the impetus for the scandal.

‘This image of me is a complete opposite of the bubblegum pop star that I had been known for being, and that’s what was so upsetting,’ she said. ‘But really, really brilliant choices looking back now from those people.’

Miley faced a barrage of outrage when the photo first hit the newsstands, back in 2008 while Hannah Montana was still running on the Disney Channel.

Many parents flew into a fury, aghast at Miley’s position as a pop idol for their own children, while the Disney Channel fired off a statement denouncing Vanity Fair for electing ‘to deliberately manipulate a 15-year-old in order to sell magazines ‘

As the uproar mounted, the teen star found herself issuing a public apology for the photo, prompting a New York Post cover about ‘Miley’s Shame.’

A decade later, however, Miley rescinded her apology, defiantly tweeting a picture of that New York Post cover and blaring: ‘IM NOT SORRY F*** YOU.’

Annie Leibovitz, who alongside her career is known for her longtime romance with Susan Sontag, defended the photo from the start.

‘I’m sorry that my portrait of Miley has been misinterpreted,’ she said at the time of the controversy. ‘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.’

In a subsequent interview, Annie contended that the picture was ‘actually sort of innocent on some level.

‘She loved taking that picture, and she was ready to take that picture. It’s just that her audience wasn’t ready. I think that if there was any mistake made, it’s probably that she shouldn’t have posed for Vanity Fair.’