I suspect a lot of people would disagree with me, but I really think Billy Ray Cyrus means well. He may have made some poor parenting choices, but unlike most celebrity attention whoring parents, I think when he speaks he actually has his daughter’s best interest at heart. Whether or not he should be speaking publically at all though is another matter entirely. In a candid interview with GQ, the broken-hearted father bashed his daughter’s handlers, compared her to Kurt Cobain and shockingly said he wished Hannah Montana never happened.
“The damn show destroyed my family,” Billy Ray said, before begrudgingly admitting he’d “take it all back in a second”, that his daughter is off the rails and that he’s scared for her because she’s in “serious danger”.
It’s hard to argue with him. Whether or not Miley is a serious overdose candidate might be unfounded speculation, but it’s hard to argue Hannah Montana hasn’t in many ways had a negative effect on his family. He no-showed her eighteenth birthday party over protests it was being held in a bar and is no longer even on regular speaking terms with Miley or his soon to be ex-wife. Everybody handles fame differently, but the rigors of it all seem to have a particularly adverse effect on younger celebrities.
For a few years, Hannah Montana was wholesome entertainment for twenty-first century children, but at some point, it became less about putting together a kid’s program and more about elevating Miley Cyrus to superstardom. Once you’re there, there’s no going back. It’s unlikely these bitter words from a saddened father will have any alteration on his daughter’s actions, but they do seem honest.
