Billy Ray Cyrus has responded to a leaked audio clip of an argument between he and his estranged wife Firerose, in which the country star can be heard berating his ex and insulting his family members.
The audio clip, which has since gone viral on social media, was first published by the British tabloid the Daily Mail on Wednesday. The recording hears Cyrus call Firerose a number of names, insult her intelligence and call a family member a “skank” and a “devil.”
In a social media statement posted Wednesday, Cyrus, 62, acknowledged the recorded argument between he and Firerose, 36, was heated.
“Hell yeah I was at my wit’s end,” Cyrus wrote. “As every day went by, I started realizing something was wrong. And that’s before I knew she was a fraud.”
Cyrus referenced a previous claim he’s made in a filing to the Tennessee courts, alleging Firerose (former name Johanna Rose Hodges) lied about being married twice before and concealed her surname.
He accused Firerose of having earlier been arrested for “felony residential burglary.”
“I saw before my very own eyes, everything I thought I knew about her, was a lie,” he lamented. “She was trying to take over my career, my life and usurp the Cyrus name for her own gain.”
“See you in court,” Cyrus concluded.
What does the leaked Billy Ray Cyrus audio say?
The recording opens with Cyrus calling Firerose an “idiot.”
As the couple argue, the Achy Breaky Heart singer gruffly berates his wife with insults and expletives about his tardiness to a scheduled performance.
Firerose asks Cyrus to “stop screaming at me,” but he persists.
“I don’t know who the f— you think you are, but you will not f—ing listen,” Cyrus says in the clip. “I don’t think you’re real smart, I’ve changed my mind about that.”
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While speaking about himself in the third person, Cyrus says his ex-wife Tish Cyrus’ two children, Brandi and Trace, were born from different fathers prior to her marriage to Cyrus.
“Everyone knows the devil’s a skank,” he says, seemingly referring to Tish.
Online, some have speculated the “devil” comment was in reference to Miley.
Cyrus filed to divorce Firerose on May 23 citing irreconcilable differences and inappropriate marital conduct, the latter of which she has denied.
The court proceedings have been publicly messy, with both sides alleging they are a victim of abuse.
In one court filing, Firerose said Cyrus asked for a divorce because she required a preventive double mastectomy to do with a BRCA1 gene mutation discovered in 2020.
Cyrus has denied this claim, and in the leaked audio says their fighting is “not about your BRCA” or her surgery.
Firerose has accused Cyrus of “extreme verbal, emotional and psychological abuse” during their nearly seven-month marriage. He responded with claims he was physically, verbally and emotionally abused by Firerose.
Cyrus also accused Firerose of making 37 unauthorized charges on his credit cards, totalling about US$97,000 (C$134,000).
Cyrus’ lawyers addressed the leaked audio in a statement to US Weekly and called the clip “one-sided” and a “last-ditch effort to squeeze money” out of him.
They said the country singer “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.”
“With regards to this recording, Ms. Hodges is the person who made the recording without telling Mr. Cyrus that she was recording him,” the lawyers defended. “Of course, she was intentionally on her best behavior since she knew the recording was being made.
“At this point Ms. Hodges has played her last card, while Mr. Cyrus, on the other hand, has much more material to present to the Court to demonstrate the lies that she made public throughout these proceedings,” the statement concluded.
The leaked audio has drawn comparisons online to the recordings presented by Amber Heard in her high-profile defamation lawsuit against Johnny Depp. Like Firerose, Heard secretly recorded Depp’s verbal abuse to present to the court, though Depp’s defenders alleged she may have provoked the fighting prior to turning on the camera — the same claim now made by Cyrus’ supporters.
Cyrus family drama
Miley appeared to subtly support her mother, Tish Cyrus, on Wednesday as the leaked audio circulated online. On Instagram, the star shared several behind-the-scenes photos from her new Gucci fragrance campaign. In one still, Miley embraces her mother while wearing a white bathrobe.
Cyrus was previously married to Tish Cyrus, though the couple divorced in April 2022 after 28 years of marriage. Together, they share five children: daughters Miley, Noah and Brandi, and sons Trace (who, like Brandi, was adopted by Cyrus) and Braison.
In February, Tish said the divorce from Cyrus led her to have a “complete psychological breakdown.”
Cyrus also has one other child with his ex-girlfriend Kristen Luckey, son Christopher Cody. He was earlier married to Cindy Smith from 1986 until 1991, making Firerose his third wife.
If you or someone you know is experiencing abuse or is involved in an abusive situation, please visit the Canadian Resource Centre for Victims of Crime for help. They are also reachable toll-free at 1-877-232-2610.