Tish Cyrus denies Hannah Montana ‘destroyed’ family, says she pushed for Billy Ray’s role

Tish Cyrus got the best of both worlds when she encouraged ex-husband Billy Ray Cyrus to star alongside daughter Miley Cyrus on her hit Disney Channel sitcom Hannah Montana.

The country singer gained a new generation of fans as Robby Ray Stewart, father of his daughter's Miley Stewart, a global pop star masquerading as a regular teenager residing in Malibu, on the teen series that ran between 2006 and 2011. According to his ex-wife, that was all by her design.

"He had done ‘Achy Breaky [Heart]’ and nothing else was working,” Tish said on Wednesday's episode of Alex Cooper's Call Her Daddy podcast. “And then I brought Miley out to audition for Hannah and she had gotten it. One of the casting directors said a joke, like, ‘Ugh, too bad we can’t afford her real dad.’ And I said, ‘Oh, maybe you can.’"

At that point, the family had been living in Toronto while Billy Ray worked on another series, and the back and forth became "really hard" on her other children Brandi, Noah, Trace, and Braison, per Tish. And with Miley's new gig, she would have to uproot and move to Los Angeles. "I was already stressed about, ‘What are we gonna do?’ I couldn’t, as a mom, have half my kids in Tennessee and be out here with Miley," she said.

"I was like, ‘I have to bring all the kids,' and so that’s when I said to Billy Ray, you should come audition for the dad," Tish recalled. "Because they love you and they’re really interested. Yes, it would be a pay cut but our family could be together."

Her ex-husband previously told GQ in 2011 that the sitcom "destroyed" their family. But when asked if she had that experience, Tish said "absolutely not," telling Cooper, "I just think he was having a moment."

Tish recently celebrated daughter Miley after her very first Grammy Award win(s) at the ceremony last week. The pop star took home two golden gramophones for her hit 2023 single "Flowers" in the Record of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance categories. On stage, Miley thanked her "mommy, my sister, my love, [and] my main gays because look how good I look."

Listen to the full episode of Call Her Daddy below.

Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more.

Related content:

• Miley Cyrus serves as maid of honor in mom Tish's wedding to actor Dominic Purcell
• Miley Cyrus calls out Grammys audience for 'acting like' they 'don't know' her song 'Flowers'
• Billie Eilish recalls hilarious backstage conversation she had with Miley Cyrus at the Grammys