Billy Ray Cyrus Speaks Out After Messy Inauguration Ball Performance: ‘You Just Gotta Keep Going’

Technical issued led to a haphazard Billy Ray Cyrus performance at the Liberty Ball during Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration and on Tuesday (Jan. 21), the star responded to critics.

“I wouldn’t have missed the honor of playing this event whether my microphone, guitar and monitors worked or not. I was there because President Donald J. Trump invited me,” Cyrus told People in a statement after the performance. “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. I was there for the people and we had a blast. That’s called rock n roll!!!”

In video of the Jan. 20 performance, Cyrus began strumming his electric guitar after playing the video intro to Lil Nas X’s Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit “Old Town Road” on the screen behind him. He appeared confused as attempted to play guitar and sing along, with both ending up inaudible.

After singing the song a cappella, Cyrus tried to get the audience to clap along, explaining, “they told me to kill as much time as possible.” As the silence continued, he asked the crowd, “Do y’all want me to sing more or do you just want me to get the hell off the stage? I don’t give a damn.”

He then asked, “Is my guitar still on? I think they cut me off. I don’t hear my guitar anymore.” Looking around for help, while saying “check” into his mic, Cyrus said, “Is anybody awake? I don’t hear it. Do y’all hear this? Where’s everybody at? Check. Is anyone back there? Can someone turn my guitar back on? We gonna sing a little bit more.”

A guitar tech then unsuccessfully tried to fix the technical issue, before Cyrus asked his fans to “just snap your fingers” as he sang a portion of “Achy Breaky Heart” a cappella before leaving the stage.