Billy Ray Cyrus side-stepped a question about his personal political views during a recent conversation with U.K. publication Sky News, but he did explain why he’s performed for or worked with presidents on both sides of the aisle.
The “Achy Breaky Heart” star says his reason for supporting the president — any president — is simple. His father, a Democratic politician who served 11 consecutive terms in the Kentucky House of Representatives, taught him that it was the right thing to do.
“My dad always said, ‘When the president asks you to do something, you do it, son,'” Cyrus explains.
That’s why he’s worked with a number of different presidents, including “Bill Clinton, President Obama, Mr. Bush, Mr. Bush’s dad and Mr. Trump.”
“Being president’s a tough job,” the singer goes on to say. “I pray for our country, I pray for our president and I pray for our world.”
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On social media, the kindest reactions blamed technical difficulties, and Cyrus implied the same in a statement, where he also said that the important part of his performance was celebrating the occasion.
But others speculated that Cyrus might have been inebriated, or at the very least going through some sort of crisis, during his performance.
Among those was the singer’s son Trace Cyrus, who penned an emotional open letter on social media suggesting that his dad could be struggling with some form of addiction.
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Cyrus didn’t directly address those accusations, though Trace claims he threatened “legal action” and Cyrus shared messages of hope for a more peaceful future in the family.
In his newest interview with Sky News, Cyrus did briefly speak to the tumult and healing the Cyrus family has been through.
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He also said that he “used to drink a lot back in the day,” but that he stopped using alcohol in the early ’90s and hasn’t had a drink since.
“In 1992, right before [releasing ‘Achy Breaky Heart,’] I heard a voice telling me I had to stop drinking, and I just stopped cold turkey,” Cyrus recounted. “…It was like…’You gotta get ready, because this is now the purpose of your life, to bring people together through music.'”
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Gallery Credit: Billy Dukes
