We’ve already heard some quotes from Miley Cyrus’ August cover interview with Elle Magazine. Miley gushed over the clothing line she’s working on with Max Azaria for Walmart, saying that she’d pay $500 for jeans they’re selling for $20 and that the line “is going to good for, like, Middle America, and it will be great for kids that really want to be in fashion but they don’t have it available.” Miley’s statement wasn’t offensive as much as poorly worded.
Some of the best and least reported quotes came from her dad, Billy Ray Cyrus, who confirmed what people have long assumed about his relationship with Miley – he’s her friend “first and foremost, then a daddy.” No wonder he set her up with her last boyfriend, 20 year-old Justin Gaston. That’s what friends do, while protective daddies try to keep their daughters from dating much older guys.
Billy Ray on why their family is in show business
“Our lives have always been in the big tent of the circus. The kids grew up in that tent. Show business has always been the cornerstone of our livelihood. It’s what we do.”Billy Ray on Miley finding her calling early
“She always had a calling. You couldn’t keep her off the stage. If she was at the show, she was on the stage. She grew up around Carl Perkins, Dolly Parton, Waylon Jennings… it rubbed off.”Billy Ray on his relationship with Miley
“Teenagers will be teenagers – gotta give them room to go. We talk about a lot of things she’s going through. I’m a friend first and foremost, then a daddy, and then a business partner. I’m not going to talk about that [being a matchmaker]. It’s important to me to keep things between us. Miley’s got enough people criticizing her and pointing fingers.”Billy Ray on Miley choosing her own path
“I told Miley yesterday, at this stage of the fame, whatever she does I just hope that it brings her happiness. It doesn’t matter to me if she wants to do another season of Hannah; I’ll be there. If she wants to go back to Tennessee and ride horses, I’ll do that. The only reason she should do anything is for her happiness. She doesn’t have to put up with this bullsh*t – the blood-sucking leeches that use you for everything they can use you for, man, and throw you out on the streets. It’s the nature of the business. I hate the music business. I love the music.“[Hollywood and the music industry] got a lot in common. It’s that same mentality – egos, money. I’m gonna leave you with this: Music, art, love, passion – that’s why the Cyruses do what they do. Bottom line.”
[From Elle Magazine, print edition, August, 2009, subheaders added]
I think Billy Ray’s heart is in the right place, but he gets a lot well-deserved criticism for being too permissive with his daughter. She just turned 16 and by many accounts the guy her father hand-picked for her, Justin Gaston, was staying overnight with her family until their breakup earlier this summer. Miley is now dating avowed virgin Nick Jonas, also 16, and she recently tweet-denied the In Touch report that Nick had bought her a $75,000 “commitment ring,” writing “I woke up this morning and thought I’d check up on the daily gossip and apparently Nick Jonas gave me a $75,000 ring? Its all true. Ha! P.S. My last tweet was very sarcastic.Don’t believe anything until I tweet it :)” Oh Miley, you’ve avoided controversy for a while. Please keep it that way.
Miley and Billy Ray Cyrus are shown at the German premiere of Hannah Montana: The Movie on 4/25/09. Credit: WENN.com
I think he’s her beneficiary first, then her dad.
I think he is a weak incompetent father.
Got it backwards, Billy. Being a dad always takes priority.
Yeah cause kids need friends and not parents.
She has plenty of friends. What she needs is a strong father who does his job as a father. Also Billy-chop of that ratty hair.
Parenting 1.01 Billy Ray – FIRST, you are the adult and the parent. Your children have plenty of friends, but only one father and mother. Hopefully, these two adults have their act sufficiently together to provide love, guidance and counsel to their children. It seems too many Hollywood parents (and I mean you Dina Lohan) are living through their children.
Well… that certainly explains a lot, doesn’t it?
He’s asking for a world of trouble, with that ONE STUPID statement!
Paying $500 for a pair of jeans only confirms she needs the guidance of a FATHER, not an aging friend who’s had a so-so career! Sorry Billy, you lost me on this one!
she’s not on drugs, she’s not whoring around, she’s not a thief or a drunk, she hasn’t murdered anyone and has a currently successful career… so far he seems to be doing a good job.
i say good on him for showing her unconditional love.
Br’s highlighted ‘do is even worse than that mullet he sported in the eighties!
He’s a douche first, then a daddy.
Y’all already said it, hes got it backwards
These 2 creep the hell out of me…
Ditzee, she is not yet all the things you mentioend but what do think of a 15 year old’s pictures with a towel around her brests??
Well now that’s the problem, and why she is so screwed up! No wonder she looks and dresses so Ho-y!
I guess as long as he gets money from her, that is the way it will be! Bleeck
First all when u have a 16 year old daugther, u the father don’t go out choosing a 20 year man to date her! That’s just weird! I don’t care I much of a good job he’s doing with her( so far!) but a father pimping his child that is unexcusable!
I told my daughter when she was a teenager that I would LOVE to be her friend, love.it. But I had to be her parent first. My job was to teach her to think for herself when her parents aren’t there, to know how to react to situations, to be cognizant of consequences of actions and accountable for choices; someone else isn’t going to always be there. At some point, I can be her friend…just not at that crucial time. Being friendly? Having fun together? Being a confidant, or the very least, having a communication line open that allows for the “child” to speak openly with you as their parent? Most assuredly. Very important. But buddy? Nah. A happy medium is distinctly possible/probable, with the understanding that parental decision is the ultimate final word. Guidance is sorely lacking nowadays, and newsflash, most children wish they had it…they struggle, they’re lost, faced with lots of situations they are not prepared to deal with on their own. It’s a parent’s obligation to guide them. It’s that old let them drink so they won’t elsewhere meme. Doesn’t work. It’s destructive and gives a false sense of reality. My daughter went off to college and came home after the first quarter to visit and said “thanks for being steadfast; I CAN’T believe how many students are SHOCKED they are failing when they have chosen to live the party life, not focus on their work, like a prisoner set free; it’s sad, really.” She’s not perfect, she just knows her responsiblities, and that the end accountability falls to her. It’s REAL life.
She’s an aeronautical engineer now, recently married, and we are damned good friends. For real.:-)
Hollywood is a strange environment, different pressures, but all the more reason that Billy Ray should be all about the parenting, it’s even more imperative. You can be the “cool” parent, liked by your child’s friends, etc., while still doing your job the way it should be done. You are doing your child no favors by allowing that kind of mismatched relationship, showing a skewed view of it all. Strange. But then, a lot of the Cyrus dynamic is just completely flabbergasting, case in point, the younger sister in her “swimsuit” outfit on the redcarpet. THAT was more disturbing than a lot of Miley’s escapades.
I’ll grant Miley hasn’t done anything near the Lohan and whatnot, but it will come if they don’t make some adjustments.
JMHO
A
Ya, it sounds like he’s too concerned with being liked by his own daughter to be a good, authoritative parent. It’s kind of like he’s a perpetual 16 year old himself in that way. I’m glad they have a close relationship and I agree that he thinks he’s doing the right thing, but I don’t agree with permissive parenting, especially if the child is already in the entertainment business. Seems to compound the issue.
Yeah, I know that helps keep her residual income flowing Billy, but we need precisely ZERO parents with that attitude. It doesn’t help.
What a loser!!!!!!!!!!
I’m sickened that he believes that! You need to be a PARENT!! Kids will have plenty of friends over their lifetime. But only 2 parents! He’s got self esteem issues. What a nutso…
You got it right, jay. My parents were parents first, until I became an adult, THEN they became my friends. I have a PhD and avoided almost all of the pitfalls of growing up because my parents had their priorities straight. While single Moms are wonderful and certainly do their best, Dads are really important to teach you self-esteem and how to deal with men. If I had not had my father, I’m sure my life would have been very different.
and therein lies the problem.
Did I say scr*wed up priorities??? LOL
Thank you, mai.
But I would like to point out that I am Mom, not Dad.:-)
I do have to say that strong guidance from a single parent can accomplish the goal of responsibility and leadership admirably, as can a two parent home. There’s much to be debated on in that arena of gender influences and perspectives, but a loving environment, that stresses accountability, being proud of your own actions, owning your results, is paramount, and living by example is one of the first, if not the first, priority. Open communication is also a high priority. Very, very high, a close second. Third, is respect, both sides.
Anyway, I’ve said enough.:-)
teenagers don’t want to be “friends” with their parents – they just do that to take advantage of them, like convincing your parents to let your 20 year old boyfriend live with you. i have 3 sisters and our parents were strict: boys were not allowed in our rooms, also they they had to come in and be grilled by dad – they couldn’t just honk for us, our parents vetoed alot of our clothes, we had a curfew, etc. the result? despite our efforts at wildness, we are all healthy & happy college graduates, no substance abuse, no pregnancies at 17, no DUIs and our strict parents are to thank for that. they didn’t want to be our friends, they knew they had a tough job to do (raise 4 girls!)and they did it. i think when parents want to be friends with their kids they are taking the easy way out, because it’s hard to be tough and have your kids hate you. there is lots of time to be friends later, but teenagers need strict guidance…too bad he’s not man enough to be her father.
sorry for the long post, but this just irritates me.
Do all you people really think that is what Billy Ray said? You can’t even understand this article. The person who wrote it must be a moron. Bad grammar, makes no sense and you fools believe everything you read. Go figure! That’s why articles like this are written & paid for.
Billy Ray=Douchenozzle
oh VOMIT. I HATE parents who want to be their kid’s best friend. Kids need PARENTS as well as friends. They can make friends with people their own age….
Billy Ray forgot to mention that he was Miley’s first sexual partner too. Billy Ray is a complete tool and Mileys mom is just another former whore.
Good on him, he’s a lovely guy who has a rare and wonderful relationship with his child.
Yucky. They are just creepy. She is overrated and he will NEVER take rthe hard line with her bc she’s got all the money. This is the downside to child stardom- the child does not need the parent financially so they cut them loose. Or threatens to do so.
Patsy~ of course he actually said it. The Cyrus family is not known for their attention to grammar.
I wonder what he is going to say when she ends up pregnant before 18?
Number one rule of parents, BE A PARENT FIRST! The reason why so many kids are messed up these days is because there parents want to be there friends and not be parents. My parents were parents and me and my sisters turned out fine, my mothers sisters kids and her brothers kids all turned out messed up into drugs, drinking and dropping out of school because there parents were there friends instead of being parents
I think he has crossed that boundary of being a dad with some of those pictures. It is funny hearing their views on things. Two totally different set of values.
Thats the Way my Mother Raised me ..
thats The Problem with todays society they Dont Put KIDS first …KIDS should Always Come first ..
WTG Billy
dear viewers why can’t you just leave billy ray alone he is a good dad if you can’t say anything nice about him please i’m beggin you to leave him alone please at least he is a decent human being he loves his daughter very much
I have no doubt in my mind that the reason Miley is such a brat is because she has no guidance from a mother or father. It’s a never ending cycle, and they’re using their children to make money. I don’t doubt that Miley likes her job, but she is spoiled rotten and incredibly immature. Now her sister has a “child lengere” line out (barf) and she has a twitter. She is nine years old for heavens sake, this is ridiculous. As much as I cant stand Miley or any of her siblings, I cant say it’s completely their fault. Their parents dont give the children any boundaries.