It's tough for child stars to transition to adulthood while still retaining their initial fan base. Some media experts seem to think that Miley Cyrus, who appears to be growing up in public and getting raunchier by the day, is having that problem.
“I believe for the young fans who have grown up with her, while she is trying to assert her independence, she is alienating this one-time target audience,” Michelle Groover, Public Relations Professor at Georgia Southern University, told FOX411's Pop Tarts column. “With ‘Hannah Montana’ still airing on ABC Saturday mornings, her fans are confused by what they see on the program with what they see on an entertainment website, a magazine they see and/or hear their parents discuss. Many of her fans are too young to understand the difference between the actress as a real person and the role she plays on the show.”
Jason Maloni, crisis communication expert at Levick Strategic Communications, thinks Miley is going through what any adolescent goes through. The downside, though, is that it's affecting her record sales and box office receipts.
“The road ahead for Miley is to master her craft," he says. "Whether her future lay in music or acting, she needs to be studying at the feet of the best producers and directors there are, and also, watching the older artists and performers around her to learn from their mistakes as well as their successes. At this point, Miley could be a flame, or flame out."
[Celebitchy]
