What happened between Firerose and Billy Ray Cyrus? The leaked audio argument, explained

An audio recording was leaked between Billy Ray Cyrus and Firerose, his wife of seven months, in which the country singer hurls abusive expletives at his wife, calls her names, and refers to one of his children — possibly Miley Cyrus — with the phrase “devil’s a skank.”

In the argument, Cyrus is angry that the couple was late to a Tennessee Nicki Minaj concert, where Cyrus was scheduled to be a special guest. Firerose, 37 — a musician formerly known as Johanna Hodges, whom Cyrus is divorcing — reportedly made the recording without Cyrus’ knowledge. In it, she tells Cyrus that they still have plenty of time. Cyrus then tells her to shut up and calls her names before Firerose tells him to “stop screaming.”

Cyrus then refers to himself in the third person in a different audio recording, spliced at the end of the fight. At one point, Cyrus says, “Just think if it said that. The truth on … Brandi, Trace and everyone knows devil’s a skank [sic].” It’s unclear who Cyrus meant when he said “devil’s a skank” or what that phrase even means, but some think it references his daughter Miley. The “Achy Breaky Heart” singer has three kids with ex-wife Tish Cyrus, Miley included. He also has adopted children and a son from a previous relationship.

Billy Ray Cyrus’ issued statement

After the audio recording was made public, Cyrus released a statement in his Instagram stories. “Hell yeah I was at my wit’s end,” it read. Cyrus added, “As every day went by, I started realizing something was wrong. And that’s before I knew she was a fraud.” Cyrus said he didn’t know Firerose’s parents’ last name before they married, or that she was David Hodges’ ex-wife, another songwriter and producer who used to play in the band Evanescence, the statement said.

“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,” Cyrus’ statement concluded.

Cyrus filed for divorce from Firerose in May 2024 after the couple spent about two years together and only seven months of marriage. In the filing, he cited “irreconcilable differences” and “inappropriate marital conduct,” including fraudulent credit card charges, according to Billboard. Both Cyrus and Firerose have accused each other of verbal and physical abuse. Firerose has not yet confirmed that it was she who leaked the recording.