It’s hard to be surprised by anything Miley Cyrus does these days. While she was certainly no stranger to attention-getting stunts prior to the MTV VMAs, Cyrus twerking on Robin Thicke and using a foam finger inappropriately pretty much guaranteed that short of stripping (completely) in public, nothing she does will be too shocking.
That hasn’t stopped her from trying, though. Cyrus released the music video “Wrecking Ball” on Monday, which shows her naked on a–wait for it–wrecking ball. Judging from Twitter, seeing Cyrus shed her clothes was just as shocking as having wheat toast for breakfast, and even Miley’s dad Billy Ray Cyrus didn’t seem to be caught off guard.
“I’m a song man. A musician singer-songwriter who loves all styles of music. It wouldn’t have mattered if Miley wore jeans and a flannel shirt, a tux, or a nun’s habit. [‘Wrecking Ball’ is] a smash and her performance vocally on the tune reflects her roots and sheer God-given talent,” Billy Ray said during an interview.
Hearing a dad mention “God-given talent” in a discussion where he is called to defend his 20-year-old daughter for being naked in a video is a little strange, but not as weird as the Tweet Billy Ray posted on Monday.
Trying to type ,tweet, twerk and ride a wrecking ball naked all at the same time while carrying a sledge hammer is proving difficult ! PEACE
— Billy Ray Cyrus (@billyraycyrus) September 9, 2013
After being criticized, Billy Ray posted the next update the following day.
Attitude is the most important word in the human language. Love,peace, harmony and prosperity all derive from attitude. Have a good day. BRC
— Billy Ray Cyrus (@billyraycyrus) September 10, 2013
Billy Ray is certainly in a difficult situation; after all, you can’t expect him to renounce his daughter, even if you do expect a stronger reaction. Singer Lionel Richie can relate. Richie’s daughter Nicole had a hard time staying out of the headlines for the wrong reasons when she was younger, and his advice to Billy Ray is to weather the storm.
“Dad to dad, I’ve been Billy Ray,” Richie said in an interview. “When you have a teenage daughter growing up in Hollywood…honestly, there is no control. [Miley] is just going through a period in her life and we’re actually going to grit our teeth and hold our breath…It’s one of those things where you have to say, ‘Please, God, let it be over soon.'”
While some may consider “Wrecking Ball” too provocative, Billy Ray wasn’t wrong when he called it a “smash.” The video broke the VEVO record for “Most Viewed Video” with 19 million hits in 24 hours.