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Billy Ray Cyrus’ performance at the Liberty Ball during President Donald Trump’s inauguration definitely raised eyebrows –– and now he’s sharing his opinion on the event.
After the 63-year-old country star’s viral performance Monday, January 20 –– where he featured some technical difficulties and had to perform a capella –– Cyrus revealed his true feelings despite the hiccups.
“I wouldn’t have missed the honor of playing this event whether my microphone, guitar and monitors worked or not,” the singer revealed to People in an article published on Tuesday, January 21. “I had a ball at the Liberty Ball last night,” Cyrus noted, before joking about rolling with the punches. “In life, when you have technical difficulties, you just gotta keep going… or as President Trump would say, ‘You gotta fight.'”
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
The incident occured during Cyrus’ performance of his and Lil’ Nas X’s hit “Old Town Road” on Monday night, where the singer-turned-actor continued the song with his guitar, whistling and singing along with the crowd, with no background music to accompany. After the song ended, Cyrus seemingly experienced issues with his guitar, asking the crowd, “Is my guitar still on?” and expressing concern that he had been cut off.
As he moved to his 1992 hit “Achy Breaky Heart,” he faced technical issues with his microphone and guitar. Attempting an a cappella version, he quipped, “Check? Is anybody awake?” and asked, “Y’all want me to sing more or just get the hell off the stage?”
Viewers took to social media to express their concerns about Cyrus’ performance, with many commenting that it was “cringe-worthy” and “heartbreaking.” One TikTok user said, “Sad to see Billy Ray so messed up at the Liberty Ball,” while another one said, “Aren’t these people suppose to have managers or handlers, assistance? Why are they allowing them to go up on stage like that?”
Cyrus wasn’t the only artist to experience difficulties during the inauguration — Carrie Underwood also had to perform “America the Beautiful” a cappella after some technical issues of her own.
