Miley Cyrus is shooting back at critics who accused her of making a racist gesture, saying recent pictures of her pulling her eyes into a slanted position was nothing more than a “goofy” face.

“I’ve also been told there are some people upset about some pictures taken of me with friends making goofy faces! Well, Im sorry if those people looked at those pics and took them wrong and out of context,” she says on her official fansite.

In a photo obtained by TMZ earlier this week, Cyrus, 16, is shown sitting on her boyfriend Justin Gaston’s lap surrounded by a group of friends all making a stereotypical gesture by pulling their eyes into a slanted position. The gesture is commonly thought to be offensive to Asian Pacific Americans.

LINK: Click here to see the photo at TMZ.com

But Cyrus blasted the media for what she deemed to be an attack on her and little more than a move to make her look like Hollywood’s newest bad girl.

“In NO way was I making fun of any ethnicity! I was simply making a goofy face. When did that become newsworthy … It seems someone is trying to make something out of nothing to me … I definitely feel like the press is trying to make me out as the new ‘BAD GIRL’”

“I feel like now that Britney is back on top of her game again, they need someone to pick on! Lucky me,” Cyrus wrote.

The Hannah Montana starlet did not apologize, but only said she did not want to disappoint her fans.

“You guys know my heart and know the most important things to me are my friends, family, fans and GOD! In NO WAY do I want to disappoint any of you! But when I have made mistakes in the past, I feel like I’ve owned up to them and apologized,” she added.

Cyrus has hardly been a stranger to controversial photos. In April of last year, she was criticized when provocative photos of her posing in a green bra. A few months later, she apologized for a semi-nude shot that appeared in Vanity Fair magazine.

PHOTOS: Click here for pics of Miley Cyrus.