MILEY CYRUS LABELS PEREZ HILTON AN 'IDIOT'

Miley Cyrus has taken aim at Perez Hilton and branded him "an idiot" after a provocative photograph of the teenage star was posted on the celebrity blogger's website.

Cyrus hit headlines earlier this week (beg14Jun10) after the snap, which appeared to show the 17 year old exiting a car without wearing any underwear, appeared on the internet gossip's blog.

The picture sparked a storm of controversy, but Hilton downplayed the incident in a video post on his site.

He says, "Do you think Miley is that stupid to be out in public without panties? Do you think I am stupid enough to post a photo of Miley if she is not wearing any underwear down there?"

Now Cyrus has waded into the controversy herself, insisting she hopes the story won't have an impact on the chart success of her upcoming album Can't Be Tamed.

She tells radio host Ryan Seacrest, "That's like, some idiot being an idiot - that's not me, you know what I'm saying?

"Isn't it funny how things that are so negative have to come out right before my record? It's like, no one can just let a positive thing happen. All I can do is focus on the positive and that I hope this record does well."