Billy Ray Cyrus: " I didn't know they were going too Strip her down!"

The Miley Cyrus photo controversy, which was a result of the actress’ Vanity Fair photo shoot, was once again the subject of debate on Tuesday’s Today show.

Miley’s dad, Billy Ray Cyrus, spoke publicly about the photos for the first time since the negative reaction to the June issue of the magazine.

“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 Meredith Vieira.

He added, “I was surprised when I saw it, but hey, that’s life. Stuff happens. You gotta deal with it.”

Cyrus says he couldn’t prevent the photos due to other obligations. “I didn’t have any choice,” he said. “I had a show to do, and an obligation, to go to Washington state ... playing for the troops just back from Iraq.”

Viera asked Cyrus why he didn’t speak to someone about it after the fact, and he responded, “cause my dad always said, ‘The more you stomp in poop, the more it stinks.’”

At the time, Miley Cyrus apologized for the photos, which were taken by Annie Leibovitz.
As for the picture of Miley and her dad, striking a pose that, to some, appeared more suitable between a boyfriend and girlfriend rather than a father and daughter, Billy Ray laughed.
“That’s just a daddy who loves his daughter a whole lot,” he said.

“I am her dad, she’s my daughter. If a daddy hasn’t hugged his daughter recently, I recommend he does.”

Billy Ray and Miley are currently filming in Tennessee the Hannah Montana movie, set to be released in May 2009.

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Billy Ray Cyrus brings ‘Hannah Montana’ home

Thanks to Billy Ray Cyrus, “Hannah Montana” is headed home. He and the real star of the Disney show, his 15-year-old daughter Miley, are busy filming the upcoming “Hannah Montana” flick in their home state of Tennessee, but, as he told OK! magazine, that wasn’t the original plan.

“When I read the initial script, it was all about me bringing Miley home to Tennessee, and we were going to go film it in Louisiana,” Billy Ray said. “To me, that was a red flag.”

That’s when “Hannah’s” dad contacted the studio suits to point out the obvious. “I called a few different people, and I said, ‘Wait a second, I really feel that Tennessee is the right place to make a movie about coming back to Tennessee,’” he told the magazine.

In an effort to seal the deal, Billy Ray, whose upcoming album just happens to be titled “Back to Tennessee,” sent photos of his hometown to Disney honchos.

“Disney came here last week, and they pulled me aside and said, ‘Thank you for bringing this film to Tennessee,’” Billy Ray explained. But, for the record, he doesn’t want credit for the relocation, as he added, “The bottom line is Tennessee sold itself. I brought it to the table and said, ‘I think it’s the right thing to do.’ It’s a great state. I’m really proud of it.”

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