Billy Ray Cyrus is speaking out amid leaked audio and text messages in which he seemingly berates estranged wife Firerose and ex-wife Tish Cyrus.
The singer filed for divorce against Firerose in May after onlyseven months of marriage. They have since entered a tense legal battle amid accusations of abuse on both sides.
In leaked audio obtained by Page Six, Us Weekly and People, the "Achy Breaky Heart" singer is heard calling Firerose an "idiot," "selfish" and repeatedly telling her to shut up.
"Hell yeah I was at my wit's end. As every day went by, I started realizing something was wrong. And that’s before I knew she was a fraud. I just knew something wasn’t right. That was before I knew she was David Hodges ex-wife. That’s before I knew her parents last name," Billy Ray wrote on his Instagram Story Wednesday, seemingly confirming the validity of the leaked rant against Firerose(real name: Johanna Rosie Hodges).
Hodges is a songwriter and producer who has worked with Evanescence, Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Tim McGraw and more.
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Billy Ray continued: "I saw before my very own eyes, everything I thought I knew about her, was a lie. She was trying to take over my career, my life and usurp the Cyrus name for her own gain."
"See you in court," the 62-year-old concluded.
In the leaked audio, Firerose tells her estranged husband to "Please stop screaming at me."
"I don't think you're real smart. I've changed my damn mind on that," he continued in an explicit rant.
USA TODAY has reached out to reps for Firerose.
Billy Ray's attorneys slam Firerose for allegedly recording secret audio
In a lengthy statement provided to USA TODAY Thursday from Billy Ray's attorneys Rose Palermo and Jason Talley of Cheatham Palermo and Garrett, they responded to Firerose's "apparent last-ditch effort to squeeze money out of Mr. Cyrus ahead of our court ordered mediation scheduled for next week."
"As we previously stated and released back in June, we regret that Ms. Hodges has chosen to litigate this 7-month marriage in the press and has left Mr. Cyrus with no recourse but to set the record straight, once again," they continued. "Mr. Cyrus previously admitted in a court filing that he had been very vocally frustrated and angry with Ms. Hodges during their 7-month marriage as he began to uncover more and more of Ms. Hodges true motives for marrying him."
The attorneys claim Firerose made the recording without Billy Ray's knowledge, thus "she was intentionally on her best behavior."
Billy Ray's council concluded that they would present "much more material" to the divorce courts in order "to demonstrate the lies that she made public throughout these proceedings. "
Billy Ray and Firerose have accused one another of being abusive
In a court filing in Tennessee's Williamson County Chancery Court, obtained by USA TODAY, Billy Ray responded to Firerose's June 14 counter-complaint by claiming the marriage was "induced by fraud."
The singer alleged Firerose's "allegations of abuse were only made to sensationalize her false complaints by using the word 'abuse.'"
Billy Ray added that while he "would acknowledge that he was certainly vocal, frustrated and angry with the Defendant (Firerose) in May 2024, it is the Plaintiff (Cyrus) who, in fact, has been abused." He also claimed he was "not only verbally and emotionally" abused by Firerose "but also physically abused" by her.
Billy Ray Cyrus, Fireroseaccuse each other of abuse amid contentious divorce
Firerose told Page Six in an interview last month that Billy Ray was verbally abusive.
“He would rage at me, shout at me at the top of his lungs. He would terrify me,” she said. “It was illogical and insane and terrifying."
Billy Ray seemingly calls ex Tish Cyrus a 'skan*' in leaked audio, texts
Billy Ray also appeared to direct his anger toward his ex-wife Tish in the leaked audio and text messages obtained by Page Six and Us Weekly.
The former on-and-off again married couple have five adult children: Brandi, Trace, Miley, Braison and Noah. Billy Ray adopted Brandi and Trace, who are Tish's children from a previous relationship.
Seemingly referring to himself in third person, Billy Ray said Tish had "two other children" that were "from a previous marriage before she met Billy Ray."
He later added, "No, wait a minute, I said that wrong. Not a previous marriage. The other two children that were there, she was impregnated by two different men and had those two children before she even met Billy Ray."
"Just think if it said that. The truth on — I mean, Noah, Brandi, Trace. And everyone knows devil's a skan*," he continued. It's unclear if he's referring to Tish or Miley as the "skan*" based on the audio as he listed off his children.
USA TODAY reached out to reps for Tish and Miley.
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In text messages with Billy Ray's manager, the singer seemingly references Tish's "Call Her Daddy" podcast appearance in February, as he wrote, "Somebody went on a podcast … to promote their podcast … and came off like ‘Sorry I’m Drunk’ and accidentally told the TRUTH for a change."
He added: "It’s in her own words. She is a liar … and a cheat. Complete skan*. Scum of the earth. A fraud."
Contributing: Edward Segarra, KiMi Robinson
