Miley Cyrus' 'Wrecking Ball' Video Has Billy Ray Cyrus Reacting in Defense of Daughter's 'God-Given Talent'
Miley Cyrus' father spoke up in defense of his daughter's recording-breaking and controversial music video for Wrecking Ball in an interview with Entertainment Tonight on Wednesday, Sept. 11.
The 20-year-old appears fully naked and provocatively licks a sledgehammer in the Terry Richardson-directed clip, which was released on Sept. 9. The video for Wrecking Ball broke the record for the most-viewed VEVO video within 24 hours after its premiere with 14 million views. At time of publication - far less than a week since it was released - the video has close to 74 million views.
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Billy Ray Cyrus praised the ballad and thinks the music video would have captured people's attention regardless of his daughter's actions. The 52-year-old called the song "a smash" and said his daughter's lack of clothes in the video is besides the point.
"I'm a song man. A musician singer-songwriter who loves all styles of music. I come from the old school where it starts with an artist and a song, colliding if you will, in a moment where the song, the singer, the producer, the band, and the listener become one," he said. "It wouldn't have mattered if Miley would have worn jeans and a flannel shirt, a Tux, or a nun's habit... Her performance vocally on the tune reflects her roots and sheer God-given talent."
Billy Ray pulled out of a Piers Morgan Tonight interview in late August in wake of Miley's controversial performance at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards on Aug. 25. He later defended his daughter's stage show - in which she grinded on Robin Thicke and twerked on stage with minimal clothing - telling Entertainment Tonight, "She's still my little girl and I'm still her dad regardless how this circus we call show business plays out. I love her unconditionally and that will never change."
Miley told New York's Z100 radio station Wednesday the music video is not just about her getting naked. She admitted it was "a lot harder" to film the video than it was to record the song because the taping was much more of an "emotional experience."
"If people get past the point that I'm naked and you actually look at me you can tell that I actually look more broken then even the song sounds," she said. "The song is a pop ballad. It's one of these songs that everyone is going to relate to, everyone has felt that feeling at one point."
