London, May 26 (IANS) Teen actress Miley Cyrus almost quit her acting career after her controversial photos were released, says her friend Anna Maria Perez De Tagle.

Tagle plays Cyrus' sidekick on the show 'Hannah Montanna' and says she had to encourage her when she was down, contactmusic.com reports.

Cyrus had to issue a formal apology to fans when her picture showing her topless and wrapped in a bedsheet appeared in the Vanity Fair magazine. Tagle said the whole controversy has been very difficult for her.

She said: 'Sometimes I'll talk to her on the phone and she'll be like, 'It's really hard' or 'I'm really tired. I can't do this.' I'll always say, 'You do want to do this. You love your job.' The photo scandal really hurt her. She didn't know that people would look at it like that.'