Billy Ray Cyrus‘ performance at the Liberty Ball on Monday has drawn criticism. The country singer took to the stage to commemorate Donald Trump’s inauguration as the 47th President of the United States. However, technical difficulties ended up derailing Cyrus’ performance, generating a strong response from users on the internet.
Here’s everything you need to know about Billy Ray Cyrus’ performance at Trump’s inauguration.
Billy Ray Cyrus addresses criticism of his performance at Trump’s inauguration
The veteran singer arrived on stage to honor Donald Trump and presented Lil Nas X’s hit “Old Town Road.” However, in the middle of his performance, Billy Ray Cyrus noticed that the provided equipment was experiencing some issues. Consequently, he called out to the backstage staff for assistance, stating, “Check? Is anybody awake? Y’all want me to sing more, or you want me to just get the hell off the stage?”
When a crew member appeared on stage to aid him, Cyrus remarked, “In life, when you have technical difficulties, you just gotta keep going, or as President Trump would say, ‘You gotta fight.’” While the difficulty with his guitar remained unresolved, Billy Ray Cyrus decided to continue his performance with “Achy Breaky Heart.” He also tried to indulge the crowd by including them in the act, all the while snapping his fingers, as per Fox News.
This has resulted in many social media users mocking the 63-year-old musician online for what one user on X (formerly Twitter) called “possibly the cringiest few minutes in entertainment history.” Billy Ray Cyrus has since responded to the criticism surrounding his Liberty Ball performance, stating, “I wouldn’t have missed the honor of playing this event whether my microphone, guitar and monitors worked or not. I was there because President Donald J. Trump invited me. I had a ball at the Liberty Ball last night, and 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. I was there for the people, and we had a blast. That’s called rock n’ roll!!!”
Incidentally, Carrie Underwood also experienced similar technical difficulties during her time on stage prior to Cyrus’ arrival.