Billy Ray Cyrus reflects on parenting, his split from wife Tish Cyrus, and the entertainment industry in this new feature in GQ magazine (with Channing Tatum on the cover).
Here’s what the 49-year-old entertainer and father of Miley Cyrus had to share:
On wishing he had been more of a parent and less of a friend: “How many interviews did I give and say, ‘You know what’s important between me and Miley is I try to be a friend to my kids’? I said it a lot. And sometimes I would even read other parents might say, ‘You don’t need to be a friend, you need to be a parent.’ Well, I’m the first guy to say to them right now: You were right. I should have been a better parent. I should have said, ‘Enough is enough—it’s getting dangerous and somebody’s going to get hurt.’ I should have, but I didn’t. Honestly, I didn’t know the ball was out of bounds until it was way up in the stands somewhere.”
On opting not to attend Miley’s 18th birthday party: “You know why I didn’t go? Because they were having it in a bar. It was wrong. It was for 21 years old and up.”
On hiding his true feelings while he shot Hannah Montana: “Season four, it was a disaster. I was going to work every single day knowing that my family had fallen apart, but yet I had to sit in front of that camera. I look back and I go, How did I ever make it through that? I must be a better actor than I thought.”
On rumors that the family profited from Miley’s work: “For the record, to set it straight, I want to tell you: I’ve never made a dime off of Miley. You got a lot of people have made percentages off of her. I’m proud to say to this day I’ve never made one commissioned dollar, or dime, off of my daughter.”
On being scared for his daughter: “I’m scared for her. She’s got a lot of people around her that’s putting her in a great deal of danger. I know she’s 18, but I still feel like as her daddy I’d like to try to help. Take care of her just a little bit, to at least get her out of danger. I want to get her sheltered from the storm. Stop the insanity just for a minute.”
To read GQ‘s complete interview with Billy Ray, visit GQ.com.
