Billy Ray, how the worm turns...

You know, some time back during the First Great Miley Cyrus Is Ruining Civilization flapdoodle, I stumbled across a slightly heartbreaking interview with Billy Ray Cyrus. Maybe Chris Heath just penned the most undeservedly sympathetic article ever and should be awarded the Pulitzer, or maybe it was partly because Billy Ray's a fellow Kentuckian who seemed genuinely grateful and even humble about his fame, plus he never took himself that seriously. He did not pretend to be an ar-teeste. I think I also realized after reading an insider's perspective on why child stars so often go off the rails that having a child with any measure of fame must be a parent's worst nightmare, because your child has become a moneymaking commodity for a heartless industry that will not hesitate to discard them like so much trash once they no longer turn a profit.

But now he's capitalizing on the Second Great Miley Cyrus Is Ruining Civilization[1] flapdoodle by appearing  in an entirely cringeworthy video [2] featuring a remake of Achy Breaky Heart. Sort of. Kind of a reboot/sequel/remix thing. It's mostly inoffensive as a musical endeavor, no worse than most music, anyway, but the video is a whole other level of offensive that includes a shoutout to Miley's twerking and features a large number of women dressed in, essentially, tiny strips of electrical tape. There's Billy Ray happily appearing in a video where a fellow performer proudly proclaims "Miley keeps twerking, Daddy’s song is working". I may have gagged at this point. I almost missed Billy Ray shouting, "Wrecking Ball!”

I think they'll have to invent a new level of infernal torment for the parent who can give the impression that he's worried about the people exploiting his teenage daughter then turn right around and exploit her name for the sake of his own career.

[1] - Or, I dunno, one of them. I'm losing count.

[2]- I take no responsibility for the fact that you cannot unsee this. Watch at your own risk. Maybe have bucket handy if you read that interview with that sensitive, caring dad character who admitted he hadn't been the world's best disciplinarian but worried about the welfare of his little girl. And some people claim Billy Ray can't act...

P.S.

Ew. Nasty.