Cyrus: I should have stayed for shoot

NEW YORK -- Billy Ray Cyrus says he wasn't around when Annie Leibovitz photographed his 15-year-old daughter, Miley, wrapped in a sheet with her back exposed, for the June issue of Vanity Fair magazine.

"I wasn't there at the time," the 46-year-old country star said in an interview Tuesday on NBC's "Today" show.

"(Miley's) publicist was there, and everyone seemed in control," he said. "I didn't know they (were) gonna strip her down and wrap her with a blanket."

"So I was surprised when I saw it, you know, but ... stuff happens. That's life. Things happen and sometimes things get a little out of control and you just gotta deal with life," he said. "Again, it's peaks and valleys and ups and downs."

Cyrus, who co-stars with Miley in Disney Channel's "Hannah Montana," said Leibovitz was a "good person and a great photographer" but looking back, he would have stayed to chaperone the photo shoot.

Another photo in the Vanity Fair spread that caused a stir was the image of Miley in a black tank top that revealed her midriff as Cyrus held her in his arms.

When asked if that photo was a mistake, Cyrus said: "It's not a mistake to me. If it is to someone else, I'm sorry if I offended somebody, but no, that's just a daddy that loves his daughter a whole lot."

Cyrus said he and Miley "got caught up in this adventure that we've gone through with this dream, and what we do for a living. ... We both love acting, we love making music and we love each other. I'm her dad and she's my daughter, so if a daddy hasn't hugged his daughter recently, I'd recommend he does."

LOS ANGELES -- It will be a bit longer before the court begins to sort out Britney Spears' finances, but she may be getting a new zip code soon.

A Los Angeles court commissioner on Tuesday agreed to allow Spears' representatives to sell her home, the same paparazzi hotspot from which authorities have twice escorted the singer in protective custody.

The decision required a court's approval because the 26-year-old's finances and personal affairs remain under the control of her father.

James Spears became conservator of his daughter's affairs in February after several highly publicized mishaps. A trial about whether he will maintain that role was also delayed on Tuesday.

One of the main reasons: Britney Spears remains on vacation and won't be back in time to participate in crucial meetings about her finances and mental health. The pop star and her father weren't in court Tuesday.

NEW YORK -- Ludacris is following the footsteps of P. Diddy and Jay-Z with a laundry list of projects, including a Web site, acting gigs and a show on the Planet Green network.

"It's my responsibility with the power that I have to show different sides of myself, not only my freedom of speech," the 30-year-old rapper said.

Ludacris, who is based in Atlanta, recently launched WeMix.com, where aspiring musicians can upload material, collaborate with others and receive feedback.

"This is a site where you can get your music heard," he said. "You put your original music on here, you can get feedback, and this is a new way for music industry executives to sit in the comfort of their own homes and look for artists."

The Grammy winner said he remembers how hard it was "trying to get into the music game myself."

"What's most important is that they don't have any pressure from the outside world; they can (upload) their original content with no one telling them how their music should be," he said.

Ludacris, whose real name is Christopher Bridges, said he's found country and alternative artists he may add to his Disturbing tha Peace imprint, distributed by Def Jam Recordings. "We're actually looking to sign some artists from the site already," he said.

He added: "I do feel that now there are alternative ways of making money. You've got touring, ringtones these days, so everything balances itself. As long as we continue to put out good, solid music, we'll sell records."

Meanwhile, Ludacris and Tommy Lee will star in Planet Green's "Battleground Earth," a series of competitions between the rapper and the rocker to determine who's the greenest.

"Tommy Lee and myself were two people who didn't have that much knowledge of being eco-friendly at first," he said. "I signed on because I wanted to learn (and) teach others."

"We're learning about alternative fuels, recycling, solar panels, eco-barrels, everything that you could possibly imagine to try and save the planet," he said.

Ludacris -- whose screen credits include "Crash" and "Hustle & Flow" -- also appears in several upcoming films, including "Max Payne," starring Mark Wahlberg, and "RocknRolla," directed by Guy Ritchie.

His new CD, "Theater of the Mind," is slated for release in September.

George Carlin will be awarded the 11th annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington announced Tuesday that Carlin will be honored for his 50-year career as a Grammy-winning standup comedian, writer and actor. The center will salute Carlin at a tribute performance by former colleagues November 10th, which will be broadcast later on PBS. Kennedy Center Chairman Stephen Schwarzman says Carlin makes people laugh but also makes them think. Carlin, 71, has released 22 solo albums and three best-selling books. He starred a variety of TV and movie roles and is famous for his "Seven Words You Can Never Say On TV" routine.

Ricki Lake is firing back at physicians groups that have singled her out for bringing attention to at-home childbirth. The 39-year-old former talk-show host is named in a recent statement by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists that says the home is not the safest setting for having a baby. In her film "The Business of Being Born," a documentary about the maternity care system that premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival, Lake is shown giving birth in the bathtub of her Manhattan apartment to her second son Owen, who turns 7 on Wednesday. "It's scary that both (the ACOG and the AMA) have sort of targeted me," Lake told The Associated Press on Tuesday. "And, you know, I'm all about choice. This is not unlike the abortion issue. I am pro-choice when it comes to childbirth and choices in birth. Home birth was around long before hospitals were taking over -- and I just think women need to know (the information) so that they can make the best choice for them."

Toby Keith's annual fundraiser for families of children with cancer raised $709,000 this year. The money goes to Ally's House, a charity started after original band member Scott Webb's 2-year-old daughter, Allison, died of kidney cancer in 2003. The charity provides for families' needs, such as prescriptions, rent or mortgage payments, utilities and gasoline and hopes to eventually build a center near an Oklahoma City hospital to provide lodging. Five years of private concerts, auctions and golf tournaments have raised more than $2.3 million.

Joan Rivers' salty tongue got her booted from a British daytime talk show in the middle of its live broadcast. Rivers used two expletives while talking about Russell Crowe as a guest host on the live gab-fest "Loose Women." She was asked to leave during a commercial break. The 75-year old comedian said in a statement Tuesday she was sorry for the swearing, and assumed that a censor would be able to "bleep" the words out. Then she cracked wise, saying the incident reminded her of her wedding night -- because she was asked to leave in the middle of that, too.