Country

Billy Ray Cyrus lashed out at his estranged wife singer Firerose in an Instagram Story on Wednesday (July 24) after the leak of a tape in which it appeared that the 62-year-old “Achy Breaky Heart” star was lambasting Firerose (born Johanna Hodges), 37, during a heated argument in which he blamed the Australian vocalist for making him late to a show.
“Hell yeah, I was at my wit’s end,” Cyrus wrote in the Story. “As every day went by, I started realizing something was wrong. And that’s before I knew she was a fraud. I just knew something wasn’t right. That was before I knew she was David Hodges ex-wife. That’s before I knew her parents last name.”

The post continued, “I had no idea she was arrested for felony residential burglary. I saw before my very own eyes, everything I thought I knew about her, was a lie. She was trying to take over my career, my life and usurp the Cyrus name for her own gain. See you in court.”

It’s unclear who leaked the undated audio of the argument to Britain’s Daily Mail, but Cyrus’ divorce lawyers told ET that it was Firerose; at press time, a spokesperson for Firerose had no comment when asked by Billboard to respond to that claim.

In the 90-second recording — which Billboard has obtained — a hoarse-sounding man identified as Cyrus can be heard berating Firerose over his claims she made him late for an appearance. “It’s 9:15 you idiot,” he says. “I needed to leave two hours ago,” as the person identified as Firerose calmly responds, “No you didn’t, you can still leave.”

“Get the f–k out of here. I had to go when I was ready to go,” the man identified as Cyrus continues. “If you had just shut the f–k up. I’m not in no place to do a show. I had to go when I was ready to go! [sound of hands clapping together]. If you had just shut the f–k up!” Firerose asks Cyrus to “stop screaming” at her as the singer continues to blame his ex for making him late.

“If you would’ve left it alone when I told you, it’s done. Now I’m really f–king pissed. You once again showed me you will not listen. I don’t know who the f–k you think you are, but you will not f–king listen.” Cyrus then tells Firerose that their argument is about her being a “selfish b–ch,” telling her “I don’t think you’re real smart. I changed my damn mind on that s–t.” He then repeatedly called her a “b–tch” and a “dumb ass” and says, “you cannot continue to walk all over me and think that I’m gonna go out in public with your dumb ass and f–king have have you do s–t anywhere you want in front of whoever… you just f–ked up.”

Cyrus filed for divorce on May 22 citing “irreconcilable differences” and “inappropriate marital conduct” seven months after the couple married; they began dating in 2022 after years of friendship. In a follow-up filing on June 13 filing, Cyrus requested an emergency motion accusing Firerose of making nearly $100,000 in unauthorized “fraudulent” credit card charges while seeking a temporary restraining order to stop her, accusations her attorneys labeled “untrue.”

In a statement shared with Billboard, Cyrus’ divorce attorneys, Rose Palermo and Jason Talley of the firm Cheatham Palermo and Garrett said, “On behalf of our client, Billy Ray Cyrus, we wish to respond to Ms. Hodges recent release to the press in an apparent last-ditch effort to squeeze money out of Mr. Cyrus ahead of our court ordered mediation scheduled for next week.”

They added, “As we previously stated and released back in June, we regret that Ms. Hodges has chosen to litigate this 7-month marriage in the press and has left Mr. Cyrus with no recourse but to set the record straight, once again. Mr. Cyrus previously admitted in a court filing that he had been very vocally frustrated and angry with Ms. Hodges during their 7-month marriage as he began to uncover more and more of Ms. Hodges true motives for marrying him.”

In reference to the leaked audio, the attorneys said that Firerose — who has legally changed her name to Firerose — allegedly made the recording without telling Cyrus that he was being taped. “Of course, she was intentionally on her best behavior since she knew the recording was being made,” they wrote. “If Mr. Cyrus was truly the person that Ms. Hodges desires the court of public opinion to believe with the release of her one-sided recording, then it is mindboggling to try and explain why Ms. Hodges begged to return to live with him and for Mr. Cyrus to give her a chance to ‘explain everything’ after he filed to annul or dissolve their marriage.”

The attorneys concluded, “Unfortunately, Ms. Hodges is attempting to litigate her case in the press for her own personal gain and in an attempt to harm our client’s longstanding career, as she promised she would do if he tried to divorce her, which Mr. Cyrus alleged in a previous court filing. At this point Ms. Hodges has played her last card, while Mr. Cyrus, on the other hand, has much more material to present to the Court to demonstrate the lies that she made public throughout these proceedings.”

After Cyrus’ divorce filing, Firerose accused him of domestic abuse, saying he was psychologically abusive during their marriage, calling the country singer “unpredictable and volatile” due to alleged substance abuse, adding the claim that he filed for divorce one day before she was scheduled to have a preventative double mastectomy. Cyrus’ lawyers “vehemently” denied the allegations, saying that while he was “certainly vocal, frustrated and angry with the defendant in May 2024, it is the plaintiff who, in fact, has been abused. Not only verbally and emotionally by the defendant, but PHYSICALLY.”

If you or someone you know are experiencing domestic violence, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 for confidential support.