Billy Ray Cyrus was plagued by technical difficulties and stumbling left turns throughout his twelve-and-a-half minute performance at Trump’s 2025 Inauguration Liberty Ball on Monday night (Jan. 20).
The internet took notice.
“An epic disaster,” wrote one X user.
“Possibly the cringiest few minutes in entertainment history,” another opined.
“A Billy Cyrus trainwreck,” said a third.
Several more suggested that he might be inebriated, or at the very least, going through some sort of crisis more than just being flustered by equipment malfunctions.
Objectively, the performance clearly didn’t go as Cyrus intended. It got off to a rocky start, with the singer visibly concerned about sound issues as a video accompaniment to “Old Town Road” — complete with a cameo from Chris Rock — played on a screen behind him.
Cyrus tried to rally, first with an a capella do-over of “Old Town Road,” then with a monologue in which he celebrated Trump’s inauguration and praised Carrie Underwood‘s handling of her own technical difficulties when she’d sung “America the Beautiful” at the ceremony earlier that day.
Read More: Watch Carrie Underwood Tell Inauguration Director, ‘I Got This’
But ultimately, he seemed to be spiraling.
“They told me to kill as much time as possible,” he told the crowd at one point.
“Y’all want me to sing more, or do you want me to just get off the stage? I don’t give a damn,” he said at another point. “Y’all probably tired of listening to the music over and over. I says, ‘You know what, these people wanna party. They wanna party!'”
A stagehand came out to help him plug his guitar back in, but Cyrus’ performance continued to stutter through a finger-snapping rendition of “Achy Breaky Heart.” Finally, the lights dimmed down as the studio recording of Cyrus’ “Could’ve Been Me” blared through the speakers, and someone wearing a headset came out, picked up Cyrus’ microphone and escorted him offstage.
The most polite takes on social media were the ones blaming sound equipment for the mishaps.
“Someone’s getting fired,” one X user quipped.
Or, in the words of another social media user, “Trump needs to pardon Billy Ray Cyrus for that performance because it was a crime.”
Other country performers at Trump’s presidential inauguration festivities on Monday included Jason Aldean and Parker McCollum.
Carrie Underwood has been, well, busy since winning Season 4 of American Idol in 2005. Since the confetti fell, the country singer has released nine albums and embarked on seven tours. She’s also tried her hand at acting and launched a handful of businesses.
Over the years she’s become one of the biggest success stories to come out of the show, winning countless awards and amassing a staggering net worth of over $100 million.
Keep scrolling to see 20 things Underwood has done since her time on the reality singing competition.