Billy Ray Cyrus has issued a statement after his rocky performance at president Donald Trump’s Inauguration Day Liberty Ball.
Cyrus’ 12-and-a-half-minutes onstage were plagued by technical difficulties and equipment malfunctions.
He pivoted with a couple of lackluster a capella songs and a rambling monologue, in which he told the crowd he’d been instructed to “kill as much time as possible,” and asked somebody behind the scenes if they wanted him to “just get offstage.”
His performance ended when the stage crew cut the lights, fed a studio recording of his “Could’ve Been Me” through the speakers and ushered him offstage.
In a statement to People, Cyrus underscored that to him, the most important part of his performance was to celebrate the occasion.
“I wouldn’t have missed the honor to play this event whether my microphone, guitars and monitors worked or not,” he tells the magazine. “I was there because President Donald J. Trump invited me.”
He chalked his onstage mishaps up to technical difficulties, but said he’s ultimately happy with how the show turned out.
“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,” Cyrus continues.
“I was there for the people and we had a blast. That’s called rock ‘n’ roll!!!”
Cyrus wasn’t the only performer who suffered technical difficulties during an Inauguration Day-related performance. Carrie Underwood also had to make a sudden pivot during her performance of “America the Beautiful” during the ceremony, since equipment malfunctions prevented the Armed Forces Chorus and the U.S. Naval Academy Glee Club from accompanying her as planned.
However, Underwood’s improvisations were significantly more poised and decisive than Cyrus’.
