Billy Ray Cyrus has broken his silence after being roundly mocked for his disastrous appearance at Donald Trump’s inaugural ball.
The country singer, 62, was panned over his outing at the Liberty Ball Washington, D.C. following in the swearing-in of the new president.
He was targeted by social media users over issues including the authenticity of his performance, which was plagued with technical difficulties – after Carrie Underwood also saw glitches impact her rendition of America the Beautiful.
Now Cyrus, 63, has issued a statement addressing his own botched stage show, which included his songs Old Town Road and Achy Breaky Heart.
‘I wouldn’t have missed the honor of playing this event whether my microphone, guitar and monitors worked or not,’ he defiantly told People.
‘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.’
In another awkward sequence, Cyrus’ silhouette was seen walking around on the stage while the music played behind him.
‘That is just plain embarrassing,’ one social media user said. ‘What, Milli Vanilli wasn’t available?’
Social media users appeared to be disappointed in the technically-hindered performance in their feedback, with one user called the outing ‘possibly the cringiest few minutes in entertainment history.’
One user said it was ‘so embarrassing’ watching Cyrus ‘giving a trainwreck performance’ Monday as he was ‘clearly lip-syncing’ and disheveled in appearance.
The user noted that it appeared Cyrus was ‘bizarrely [wandering] around the stage,’ adding, ‘How embarrassing for him.’
Another person said the musical artist didn’t seem to understand that wore out his welcome, writing, ‘OMG – Billy Ray Cyrus isn’t leaving.’
The nature of criticism at Cyrus for his outing Monday did not appear to be politically-driven, as supporters of the incoming president lobbed insults in his direction.
‘I’m embarrassed for you @billyraycyrus,’ one user said. ‘This is a disgrace to our President and our country get off [the] stage.’
Another said, ‘I just watched them try to pull him off stage for 5 mins … they even killed the lights on him. Thank you Fox for filming that entire scene. Had me crying.’
Asked one user: ‘Can Trump pardon Billy Ray Cyrus for this performance tonight? Wow.’
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