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Marie Osmond blames Billy Ray
Filed under: Celeb Kids, Celeb Parents
As the parent of a 7-year-old, I am extremely aware of Miley Cyrus and her incredible rise to fame. As someone over the age of forty, I am also well acquainted with her Achy-Breaky dad, Billy Ray. I'm a fan of both and wish nothing but the best for them. However, I've been quietly, and not so quietly, wondering just what the heck is wrong with Billy Ray. It seems that he has forgotten that he is the father of a 15-year-old and not just the co-star and friend of Miley Cyrus.I've taken a little heat for that opinion, but clearly I am not the only one who thinks Billy Ray Cyrus is falling down on the parenting job. In response to that Vanity Fair photo of Miley wearing nothing but a sheet and a come-hither look, former child-star Marie Osmond lays the blame on dad.
By way of explanation, Billy Ray has said he was present in the beginning of that photo shoot - before the offending photo was taken - but that he had another appointment and had to leave. That, says Osmond, is where he went wrong. "My parents never, never left us alone," she says. "We always had some form of a guardian or something with us, a guardian that would represent what they would have done."
Osmond says she was fortunate to have the best kind of stage mother in Olive Osmond. "She was there for every stage of my life. I think, if your kids are going to be in that kind of business, then you need to make it your business to be there for them and help them figure out, but not necessarily to control them."
Everybody makes mistakes and Billy Ray clearly made one in leaving that photo shoot early. But if a 47-year-old experienced entertainer could make such a mistake, imagine the mistakes a fifteen-year-old will make without someone there to guide her.












ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
5-10-2008 @ 7:26PM
clilleskov said...I agree that he should have stayed put unitl the photo session was done or had another responsible adult there when he left, but Marie Osmond needs to not be giving parenting advice...especially since one of HER kids is currently in rehab!
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5-10-2008 @ 10:13PM
Rob O. said...I'm calling "BS' on this "left early for an appointment" nonsense. Any responsible parent would've made sure that he/she would have final say on the photo that was to be featured in the magazine.
His failure wasn't just in leaving early - his failure is that he checked out as a dad long ago. And Miley, while only 15, is old enough to understand a thing or two - especially given all of the scandals that other young Hollywood-ites have been through in recent months.
When a kid signs on with Disney, there's a certain unspoken moral code that's kinda implicit. Miley and her parents have betrayed the trust of the viewing public by not upholding that clean image. Honestly, I hope that this is a career-breaker. There's a lot of blame to go around but I suspect that a severe hit to the pocketbook will be the only way the Cyrus family will learn from this.
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5-12-2008 @ 7:26AM
Katrina said...I think it is quite odd that everyone is blaming Billy Ray for everything that Miley does wrong. Miley does also have a mother who should share equal blame.
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