Billy Ray Cyrus gave an ‘epic disaster’ of a performance during Donald Trump’s Liberty Ball, following the presidential inauguration.
The 63-year-old singer took the stage at the event in Washington, DC on Monday night (January 20). He performed his hit tune, “Achy Breaky Heart” and his and Lil Nas X’s song, “Old Town Road.”
However, his show didn’t go without a few issues.
At one point during his performance, after singing “Old Town Road,” he couldn’t hear his guitar playing. “Is my guitar still on?” he asked the stage crew. “I think they cut me off. I don’t hear my guitar anymore.”
Cyrus continued to hold the instrument up, before asking the workers backstage: “Is anyone awake?”
“I don’t hear it? Do ya’ll hear it?” he continued to ask. “Is anyone back there? Can somebody turn my guitar back on? We’re going to sing a bit more.”
He then quipped about why his guitar may have been turned off, adding: “Y’all want me to sing more or you just want me to get the hell off the stage? I don’t give a damn.”
However, a crew member finally came onto the stage and fixed the singer’s guitar, before he continued his performance.
“When you have technical difficulties you got to just keep going,” he added. “Or as President Trump would say, you got to fight!”
Fans on social media also didn’t hesitate to criticise Cyrus’ gruff-sounding voice.
“Billy Ray Cyrus’ performance at Donald Trump’s inaugural Liberty Ball is an epic disaster,” one person wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
“That Billy Ray Cyrus ‘performance’ at Liberty ball was absolutely pathetic. Worst s*** I’ve seen in a while,” another added.
“It seems that Billy Ray Cyrus had a LOT more than just TECHNICAL ISSUES going on at the Liberty Ball just now!” a third wrote.
Others went on to question if he was actually singing live at one point, as his and Lil Nas X’s music video for “Old Country Road” was playing on the stage.
“Billy Ray Cyrus, clearly lip-syncing, looks like he crawled out from under a bridge before this weak performance at Donald Trump’s inaugural Liberty Ball,” one wrote. “So embarrassing.”
“Why does Billy Ray Cyrus look so out of it ?? It doesn’t even look like him. You can totally tell he’s lip syncing. This is horrible.”
Along with his voice, Cyrus was also mocked for his appearance. Many viewers made quips about his outfit on stage, as he paired his black jacket and dark-washed jeans with a multi-colored scarf and cowboy hat.
“Billy Ray Cyrus or Captain Jack Sparrow … you tell me,” one quipped on X, referring to the lead in Pirates of the Caribbean.
“When did Billy Ray Cyrus turn into Captain Jack Sparrow!?!?!” another agreed. “What the f*** was that!?!?!?”
Along with Cyrus, some of the performers at Trump’s three Inaugural balls on Monday night were Kid Rock, the Village People, Jason Aldean, Rascal Flatts, Parker McCollum, Gavin DeGraw, and the Liberty University’s Praise Choir.
