Miley Cyrus is facing a backlash over her social media activity, after her latest Instagram post was slammed by her followers as being insensitive to nature.
The singer, who is undoubtedly one of the most instantly recognisable people on the planet at this point, posted a series of photos to her 90.7 million followers featuring the 26-year-old near a set of windmills in Joshua Tree, which is located in the area of Palm Springs in California, wearing a colourful floral jumpsuit for two of five so far.
"Monkey Bizzzzznassssss [sic]," says one of the posts as Cyrus poses in a tree, but it's the choice of tree Cyrus is climbing on that has some fans upset at the pop star. In the post above, Miley Cyrus is sitting in a tree known as a Joshua tree, and the Joshua Tree community took exception to the social media posts, since the tree is a fragile one.
According to the Mojave Desert Land Trust's Executive Director Geary Hund, Joshua Trees have a shallow root system and as a result, are susceptible to damage when being climbed, and in a statement, he asked Cyrus to take down the photos.
"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."
Local residents are just as upset; comments on Cyrus' Instagram photos are of a similar tone. "Omg please stop posting these! Joshua trees are delicate, endangered and protected by state law! They are not for climbing," raged @potato_pets_kitties.
@hikingwithgrace_ added: "ARE WE REALLY GOING TO IGNORE THAT YOUR [sic] KILLING THESE JOSHUA TREES?!?! ☹️ they are easily damaged and Miley is just climbing all over them," and @smorones simply said: "Get off the damn Joshua tree". Meanwhile, @publiclandshateyou sarcastically said: "Wow. Great work."
"You have successfully thumbed your nose at the environment and the earth we all share together."
Susan Burnett, who runs Mojave Sands Hotel in nearby Joshua Tree, California, says that while she is a fan of Miley Cyrus, Burnett described the singer's latest posts as a "monumental setback".
"I admire Miley Cyrus so much but, as a community, the people of Joshua Tree have tried so hard to educate the general public about the desert and Joshua trees, specifically and this just feels like a monumental setback.
There is no way to erase the idea her image presents that climbing these endangered plants is cool. I’m counting on her to help make this right and use her platform to help us preserve these ancient beauties."
At the time of writing, Miley Cyrus is yet to reply to the criticism, nor attempt to remove the photos from her Instagram account.
