Alas, it looks like Miley Cyrus will not be paying (at least not monetarily) for those chink-eye photos. Last week in Los Angeles, a judge dismissed a lawsuit accusing the teen star of discriminating against Asians when she took that now-infamous photo: Judge dismisses Miley Cyrus 'slant eyes' suit.
Last February, Lucie Kim sued the Hannah Montana star after that damned photo popped up on the internet, with Miley and oh-so-smug friends gleefully pulling their eyes back to make that racist face we all know and love. The international gesture for "chink."
Kim's lawyer sued 16-year-old Cyrus under a statute that prohibits businesses from discriminating against minorities. She claimed that the Disney star -- in truth, a multimillion dollar brand -- "should have known that her image would be publicly disseminated via the media, which focuses on her private life."
However, L.A. Superior Court Judge Robert Sohigian said he wasn't convinced Cyrus had violated a state law protecting citizens from discrimination by businesses. Cyrus's lawyers said the state's Unruh Civil Rights Act, cited by Kim's attorney, related to access to public accommodation and is not intended to provide redress for racial insults.
To be honest, while I admire the sentiment behind the lawsuit, I didn't have a lot of confidence that it would get very far. I see that photo, and I see racist mockery grinning back at me. For most everybody else, it's just a picture of stupid kids having goofy fun. Forgotten by the end of the year, and Miley Cyrus endures as one of the most popular teens in America. Same old story.
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