Miley Cyrus Faces Backlash for Latest Photo

Miley Cyrus caused an environmental uproar this week when she posed for photos in an endangered yucca tree.

Cyrus posted three snapshots on Instagram on Sunday of herself out in Joshua Tree National Park. The pop star wore a floral bodysuit from her feet all the way up to her neck, and she posed with the park’s distinctive yucca trees. In two shots, Cyrus was even sitting up in the shaggy trees, and her followers were horrified.

“Looking down at all the pretty drama,” Cyrus captioned one shot.

“Monkey Bizzzzznassssss,” she wrote beneath another.

“I love you, but get off the damn yucca,” one fan wrote. “They can’t sustain heavy weight, and your platform tells people it’s ok to get on trees. Our national parks are doomed.”

“Do not climb Joshua trees,” added another. “It is incredibly damaging to them. As a public figure it is your responsibility to set a good example to your followers so we can preserve these trees for generations to come.”

“Don’t do this. Joshua trees are dying out because of their fragility, and folks climbing on them isn’t helping curb that,” a third person commented. “Delete this before more damage is done.”

Many of Cyrus’ critics argued that, even if the trees could handle her slender frame, it sent a dangerous message to her 90.8 million followers for her to show them being climbed. The posts could lead others to do the same, and it could lead to the destruction of the rare and coveted trees. However, while the message of the comments was largely the same, the tone varied.

“NEVER CLIMB JOSHUA TREES,” wrote an account named JoshuaTreeHatesYou with an eye-rolling emoji.

The critiques may not have been without reason. Executive Director of the Mojave Desert Land Trust, Geary Hund released a statement to The Daily Mail explaining that the yucca trees’ shallow root system put them in severe danger of falling over if subject to weight.

“We ask that Miley Cyrus consider her status as a public figure and remove this photo from her social media accounts in order to educate others and to prevent potential damage to Joshua trees,” Hund wrote.

So far, Cyrus has not responded to the outrage or deleted the photos. She has been active on social media, however, posting clips and photos from her trip to Disney Land. The actress even blasted some classic Disney Channel songs in the car and posed for photos with characters in costume.