Billy Ray Cyrus Is A Liar

Miley Cyrus’ daddy appeared on The Today Show Tuesday, offering the so-called “first” public statements on his daughter’s naked photo scandal, which appeared in Vanity Fair, masterminded by celebrity photographer Anne Leibovitz. Here’s more from People mag:

“I didn’t know they were going to strip her down and wrap her in a blanket,” Cyrus, appearing to promote his NBC show Nashville Star, told show anchor Meredith Vieira. Of the seemingly topless shot of his daughter, he said, “I was surprised when I saw it … but, hey, that’s life. Stuff happens.”

“I had just finished a movie down in Florida. I flew in because Annie had specifically asked that I come in and do a shot with Miley. I had worked with her before. She’s a great lady. She’s a good person, a great photographer. I was scheduled to be in Washington State the next day to play for the troops returning from Iraq and then the next day in Anchorage, Alaska.” He left early to catch a plane for that special concert.

He also defended the father-daughter photo, in which Miley, dressed in jeans and a top that bares her midriff, lounges across his lap.

“I’m sorry, if I offended somebody. That’s just a daddy who loves his daughter a whole lot,” Cyrus told Vieira. “Miley and I just got caught up in this adventure of this dream and what we do for a living, and, again, we both love acting, we love making music, and we love each other. I’m her Dad, she’s my daughter. If a daddy hasn’t hugged his daughter recently, I recommend he does.”

I’m afraid I reckon there’s a little strange love goin’ on here, but that’s just me.