Miley Cyrus’ brother Trace expressed concerns about the health of his father, Billy Ray Cyrus, following the country star’s performance at Donald Trump’s Liberty Inauguration Ball. In a heartfelt post, Trace said he “barely recognized” his father and shared fears that the “world may lose him too soon.”
The Achy Breaky Heart singer performed at the Liberty Ball, one of the US President’s three inaugural balls, along with the Commander-in-Chief Ball and the Starlight Ball, on Monday (January 20).
At one point, the 63-year-old wandered across the stage talking to the crowd, with many viewers commenting that he appeared unhealthy and under the influence.
Billy Ray Cyrus’ son and Miley Cyrus’ brother, Trace, urged his father to seek help in a heartbreaking post
Image credits: tracecyrus
After watching the show, Trace, the biological son of Leticia “Tish” Cyrus-Purcell (née Finley), urged his adoptive father to seek help. He wrote: “Since my earliest memories, all I can remember is being obsessed with you and thinking you were the coolest person ever. I wanted to be just like you. The day you adopted me was the happiest day of my life.
“Sadly the man that I wanted so desperately to be just like I barely recognize now. It seems this world has beaten you down and it’s become obvious to everyone but you.
“You may be upset with me for posting this but I really could care less at this point. Me and the girls have been genuinely worried about you for years but you’ve pushed all of us away.”
“Noah desperately has wanted you to be a part of her life and you haven’t even been there for her. That’s your baby girl. She deserves better.”
The musician continued: “Somehow just like me she still idolizes you though. We are all hanging on to memories of the man we once knew & hoping for the day he returns.
“You’re not healthy Dad & everyone is noticing it. Just like I showed up for you at mamaws funeral when you didn’t expect me to, I’m still here right now.”
Trace stressed that, although the two had become estranged, he wanted to reach out to his father in the hope that he would recover.
Trace is one of the country music star’s six children
“As I write this with tears in my eyes I hope you realize this message only comes from a place of love and also fear that the world may lose you far too soon. I love you Dad. We haven’t talked in a while but I’m over a year and half clean from alcohol. Guess what? I feel amazing..”
He concluded: “I don’t know what you’re struggling with exactly but I think I have a pretty good idea & I’d love to help you if you would open up and receive the help. You know how to reach me. Till that day comes I will continue to pray for you.”
Billy and manager Tish Cyrus-Purcell share three biological children: Miley, Braison, and Noah. The singer also adopted the two children Tish brought from her previous relationship, Trace and Brandi.
Additionally, he shares a son, Christopher Cody, with waitress Kristin Luckey. Christopher was born in 1992, the same year as Miley, and was raised by his mother in South Carolina.
Speaking on the Bobby Bones podcast, Billy opened up about his past substance abuse. “I always had a rule. I said I’d go play the first set completely straight…In between the break I might take a little puff (…) By the third set I’d have a puff possibly, unfortunately maybe a snort.”
Following Billy Ray’s performance at Donald Trump’s Liberty Inauguration Ball, his son urged him to seek help and said he “barely recognized” the singer
He said Keith Whitley’s passing of alcohol poisoning in 1989 was a wake-up call for him. “I stopped at a bridge down here at the Harpeth somewhere and threw all my stuff into the river. I pulled over and threw my cocaine out.”
In recent court documents, his ex-wife, Australian singer Firerose, reportedly accused him of verbal and psychological domestic abuse and “persistent” substance use, which she claims made him “unpredictable and volatile.”
Trace’s post comes after hundreds of social media users voiced their concerns following Billy’s performance at the presidential inauguration, even though the Grammy winner said he “had a blast” at the event and attributed any issues to technical difficulties.
“Me and the girls have been genuinely worried about you for years but you’ve pushed all of us away,” the musician wrote
After singing the first part of his Lil Nas X collab Old Town Road, Billy attempted to sing the rest of the song while his guitar cut out. Afterward, he performed an acapella rendition of his 1992 hit Achy Breaky Heart to the Washington D.C. crowd, as per ABC News.
“Check? Is anybody awake? Y’all want me to sing more or you want me to just get the hell off the stage?” the star quipped at one point.
“That was truly a scary experience. Not sure if he was sick or drunk or both. Hope he is ok,” one user wrote.
“It was an epic disaster,” commented someone else. “He seems really far gone.”
Viewers suggested Billy may have been under the influence during his performance, but he said he had a “blast” and pointed to technical difficulties
“What happened to him?” another person asked, while a separate user said, “Somebody better go check on him. I’m surprised they even let him on stage like that.”
Somebody else noted: “‘They told me to kill as much time as possible’ is a sure fire way to get the crowd hyped. What a joke.”
On Instagram, the country singer said he had a positive experience at the inaugural ball.
“I wouldn’t have missed the honor of playing this event whether my microphone, guitar and monitors worked or not,” he posted on Wednesday (January 22).
“I was there because President Donald J. Trump invited me.”
Trace said that, though the two hadn’t spoken in “a while,” he wanted to help him recover
Oh my god!
Billy Ray Cyrus’ performance at Donald Trump’s inaugural Liberty Ball is an epic disaster.
“Is anyone awake?”
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 pic.twitter.com/LQRNXdE2sq
— Art Candee 🍿🥤 (@ArtCandee) January 21, 2025
“I’ve learned through all these years when the producer says ‘you’re on,’ you go entertain the folks even if the equipment goes to hell,” he continued.
“I was there for the people and we had a blast. That’s called rock n roll!!!”
“Hopefully, Billy sees this as a wake-up call and makes an effort to reconnect,” one netizen wrote
