Marie Osmond Points Finger at Billy Ray Cyrus

Marie Osmond is the latest person to weigh in on the controversy surrounding Miley Cyrus on the cover of Vanity Fair. The 15-year-old Cyrus has been widely criticized for posing for the magazine wearing just a sheet, exposing her bare back. Osmond, a former child star herself, says the person to blame is Miley's dad, Billy Ray Cyrus, for leaving his daughter alone during the photo shoot.

"My parents never, never left us alone," Osmond tells AOL Television. "We always had some form of a guardian or something with us, a guardian that would represent what they would have done. Her dad stepped out, and that's when it happened. How do you say no to somebody like Annie Leibovitz [the photographer] when you're a little girl?"

Friends of the Cyrus family are defending them in PEOPLE magazine. A close source argues that both Miley's grandmother and teacher stayed at the photo shoot after Billy Ray was called away for a business meeting.

"Billy Ray was not there for the shot," the source told PEOPLE. "He would not have approved that shot if he was."

Osmond contends that's no excuse: "If your kids are going to be in that kind of business, then you need to make it your business to be there for them and help them figure out, but not necessarily to control them," she says.

Miley has since apologized to her fans, saying she is "embarrassed" by the Vanity Fair cover.