Miley Cyrus says her mom is the one who raised her amid rumored rift with Billy Ray Cyrus

Miley Cyrus and her father, Bill Ray Cyrus relationship has been under observation since he and her mom divorced in 2022. There were reports of a rumored feud between the father-daughter duo, with several clues pointing to the rift. Neither has confirmed or denied they no longer talk, but Miley recently opened up about her father.

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Miley was a guest on David Letterman’s Netflix show My Next Guest Needs No Introductions, released on June 12. It’s unclear when the interview was recorded - but Miley reflected on her relationship with her father, first remembering how she was always on the road with her dad, and inside stadiums, “he would full Simba like hold me up over the crowd” she quipped. “I always really loved it.”

Later in the interview, Letterman asked about Miley’s Hannah Montana days and who moved to LA from her family. She admitted that her memory is terrible saying, “Because I also inherited the narcissism from my father - I don’t know anything about my siblings, except for that part that I was doing.”

Letterman asked Cryus if she ever believed that her father was her hero. After taking a pause, she responded, “I mean honestly, my mom is my hero. My father, I’m grateful for, first his genes. My father has great hair, and I got that.”

Miley also said she’s grateful to have been able to watch his career. “He’s almost given me this map. And there’s a map of what to do and what not to do, and he’s guided me on both,” Miley said.

The “Flowers” singer added that without her father, she wouldn’t be the person she is today, “Because my dad, as a creative and as an artist in the way that his brain works, has always made me feel safer in my own mind because we’re very similar in our ideas.”

But despite this, Miley says it was her mom who raised her. “So I think a lot of his perspective on reality and on life, I’ve inherited from him, more so than the way that I was raised — which really, my mom raised me,” she said.

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After Letterman clarified, “So there’s no estrangement” between her and Billy, Miley steered clear from answering, saying, “Yeah. I think what is so beautiful is that my parents served their children, and I know this. My parents served us and sacrificed so much for us. Anything we dreamed of they made possible.”

Miley’s interview comes five days after Billy Ray surprised fans with a post dedicated to his daughter, where he opened up about how proud he is of her. “I’m incredibly proud of her. She’s a survivor and a true artist. She learned early on to love and appreciate the fans who make everything possible,” he wrote in the caption.

Days after the post, the country singer filed for divorce from his wife, Firerose, after less than seven months of marriage. The singer noted the day of separation as May 22, 2024, and cited irreconcilable differences, as well as “inappropriate marital conduct,” per TMZ. He is also asking the court to grant him an annulment, claiming the marriage was obtained by fraud.