Billy Ray Cyrus Reacts To Criticism After His Inauguration Ball Performance
on Jan 21, 2025
Billy Ray Cyrus has reacted after receiving criticism for struggling through his performance at an inaugural ball Monday night.
Billy Ray Cyrus, the country star best known for his hit “Achy Breaky Heart,” performed at the Liberty Ball in honor of Donald Trump’s inauguration. But his appearance drew strong reactions from fans and viewers who called it “bizarre.”
After being introduced, Cyrus made his way to the stage as the movie for his chart-topping song “Old Town Road” played on a large screen behind him for more than five minutes. When the video ended, the 63-year-old asked, “You wanna do a little more of it?” Then he started whistling the tune before singing the lyrics a cappella.
The crowd sang along before Billy Ray turned his back to them and instructed them to clap, saying, “Y’all can put your hands together now, like that. If you encourage me, I’ll keep going. They told me to give them as much time as possible, so…”
He then stood behind the microphone to sing “Achy Breaky Heart,” but realized that there were some technical issues and his guitar had no sound. He called for help, but no one immediately came on stage to help him figure out what was going on.
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He asked the crowd if they wanted him to sing more or just get off the stage and a few cheers could be heard. Cyrus then decided to move forward without his guitar, bolstered by Carrie Underwood’s viral a cappella performance earlier in the day.
“After what Carrie Underwood did today…Wasn’t Carrie Underwood fabulous? Carrie Underwood, you were amazing today,” Cyrus said. “They had technical difficulties too. And right when you have technical difficulties, you just gotta keep going.”
After some work from the stage crew, it became clear that Billy Ray’s guitar wasn’t going to work. He instructed the crowd to snap their fingers and proceeded to sing an off-key, hoarse verse and chorus of “Achy Breaky Heart.”
After his set ended, the lights went dark but Cyrus didn’t leave the stage, instead wandering around, spinning in circles, and kneeling after taking off his hat and coat.
Fans Reacted With Concern for Billy Ray Cyrus, And He Responded
Fans took to social media to share their concern for Billy Ray Cyrus, saying he “definitely seemed out of it,” one fan wrote.
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Another said it was “one of the most disturbing things I’ve seen in a long time.” Most agreed that the legend’s performance was sad, with many calling for him to “get help.”
Billy Ray initially reacted to the backlash by turning off comments on his social media accounts.
Early Tuesday afternoon, Cyrus issued a statement about his performance, saying:
“I wouldn’t have missed the honor of playing this event whether my microphone, guitar and monitors worked or not. I was there because President Donald J. Trump invited me. I had a ball at the Liberty Ball last night and I’ve learned through all these years when the producer says ‘you’re on,’ you go entertain the folks even if the equipment goes to hell. I was there for the people and we had a blast. That’s called rock n roll!!!”
