Miley Cyrus Contest Duped by "Dead Dad" Essay, But Withdraws Grand Prize

Miley Cyrus by Steve Granitz/WireImage.com

An essay that started off, "My daddy died this year in Iraq... " and in turn won a 6-year-old fan a Hannah Montana makeover and four tickets to a sold-out Miley Cyrus concert has since been exposed as utterly false. That's right — there's no dead dad. (Watch a video of the mother being confronted here.) "We did whatever we could do to win," the girl's mother admitted to Dallas-Fort Worth's KDFW Channel 4. "But when [the contest sponsor] asked me if this essay is true, I said, 'No, this essay is not true.'"

As a result and after much deliberation, Club Libby Lu — the mall chain that ran the essay contest and has already delivered on the makeover — has decided not to fly the Garland, Texas, girl to Albany, New York, to attend a Jan. 9 concert. "Club Libby Lu greatly values honesty and integrity," the retailer says in a statement. "In order to uphold these values, we have decided to withdraw the award initially given to the Ceballos family. Consequently, we will award the prize to another winner."

Now can we please take a long hard look at the person — the girl herself, perhaps her mom? — who originally thought that lying about a father's death in Iraq was worth concert tickets? I mean, we're not lobbying for a visit from Joe Namath here.

POLL: Should the 6-year-old girl have been able to keep the tickets? Vote here.

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Posted by

TV Guide News

Dec 30, 2007 10:21 AM

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That is f-ed up! They absolutely should renege. The little girl and her mom DEFRAUDED the contest and deprived a non-liar the chance to win tickets. Maybe the little girl should learn a big valuable lesson here: don't LIE to get what you want. She and her mother deserve all the scorn that comes with this disgusting act.
Posted by coconutphone77 Dec 30, 2007 11:57 AM Report Abuse

Ha! Best story of the year hands down, and at such a late date.
Posted by alynch Dec 30, 2007 12:01 PM Report Abuse

I've never heard of these stores, and never saw anything about the contest before this, but I'm wondering if they might want to renege, but can't because of a legal technicality. Unless the rules of the contest stated that they were looking for true stories only, they might not be able to just disqualify the girl for lying (or more likely her mother lying) without exposing themselves to some liability. Since these tickets are apparently more valuable gold, it might wind up costing them more than the negative publicity.

Posted by Jessica

Dec 30, 2007 12:29 PM

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When I read this story last night on another site they said that the winner-up would receive the tickets. I wonder which version is correct. Personally I hope it's the other one. I'm sorry, but at 6 a child knows the difference between the truth and a lie. There should be no reward for doing it.

Here is the link to the other story I read:
http://www.azcentral.com/offbeat/articles/1229hannah-ON.html

Posted by felinefan55

Dec 30, 2007 12:42 PM

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Thanks, felinefan. Club Libby Liu told the Morning News the 6-year-old would still go, but told the AP they would be looking into their "options." It was unclear which was the most recent stance. - MWM
Posted by TV Guide News Dec 30, 2007 12:52 PM Report Abuse

Thanks for posting this Matt. If they do give them tickets make them the CRAPPIEST ones and make sure everyone there knows what kind of douche bags these people are. Encourage some booing if possible.
Posted by coconutphone77 Dec 30, 2007 1:30 PM Report Abuse

Hey I went to the Club Libby Lu website. BTW gag me! Anyway here is the link to their news page, so it appears that there will be some kind of justice to this story. http://www.clublibbylu.com/detail.aspx?menu=18&app=142&cat1=420&tp=23&lk=no&title=News
Posted by felinefan55 Dec 30, 2007 1:39 PM Report Abuse

Also coming from a long line a military family members who have served in every war the fact that she would use a very real war just to get tickets to some concert for someone that in 2 years will no longer be the "IT" thing of the day really ticks me off. My husband didn't not do 4 tours in Afghanistan for this obnoxious trashy person to just use as a ploy. I know it is against the law for someone to claim that they themselves are vets. I hope there is also one against claiming family members are as well.

Posted by felinefan55

Dec 30, 2007 1:46 PM

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If the contest rules didn't state it had to be a true story than she should get to keep the tickets.
Posted by upcontests Dec 30, 2007 1:53 PM Report Abuse

It seems like this might be the fault of the contest creators. Did the contest rules say the story had to be auto-biographical? If so, they broke the rules and should have to re-pay for the makeover. If it didn't specify, than this poor little girl is getting a lot of negative attention for not doing anything "wrong".
Posted by tierrafiona Dec 30, 2007 2:12 PM Report Abuse

No, the six-year-old shouldn't still get "Hannah Montana" tickets. The mother is setting a bad example by telling her daughter that it's okay to lie and cheat to get ahead in this world.
Posted by brotherkantor Dec 30, 2007 2:38 PM Report Abuse

Okay, so they don't feel the need for a background check, but they feel a six-year-old needs a makeover?? Oy.
Posted by ezrawey Dec 30, 2007 2:49 PM Report Abuse

She didn't lie. She just wrote an essay that said My daddy died this year in Iraq and the first time someone asked if it really happened the mother said no. That's not lying. It's called creative writing.
Posted by tv9999 Dec 30, 2007 3:39 PM Report Abuse

I place the responsibility solely in the lap of the mother.
A 6 year old does not have that kind of larceny in her heart without it being put there by the mother.
I feel bad for this little girl at having a mom who was willing to "do what ever it took" to win - anything.
What a horrible example she has set for her child - lie and cheat to get what you want.

The salon did the only honorable thing by selecting a new contest winner.

Posted by Jonih59

Dec 30, 2007 4:02 PM

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