In the booklet for her new album "Blackout", Britney Spears is photographed wearing a cross and fishnet stockings while leaning suggestively against a confessional booth. Officials from the Catholic League are now speaking out against the photographs calling the images a "bottom of the barrel" publicity ploy.
The controversy surrounding the photo is somewhat reminiscent to the backlash that Madonna experienced after releasing her 1989 music video for "Like a Prayer."
In an interview with MTV News, Kiera McCaffrey, director of communications for the Catholic League, expressed her disdain for the new photographs and labeled the stunt as a "cheap publicity stunt."
"All we see is how troubled this girl is now, especially with her family, losing her kids, with her career on a downward slide," said McCaffrey. "And now she's put out this album and this is her tactic to promote it? She should be focusing on singing and dancing and trying to be an entertainer without mocking a Catholic sacrament."
The new album "Blackout" hit record stores today and is netting Spears some of the best reviews of her career.
Although Spears has not engaged in any pre-release promotional appearances, like concerts or late night television spots, it is expected that her high publicized antics will be enough to possibly put the album at No.1 by the end of the week.