Cheryl Burke claims Billy Ray Cyrus gave a crew member a ‘donkey kick’ during Dancing With The Stars rehearsals.
Billy Ray, 62, has been in the news in recent weeks. Her ex-wife Firerose, 34, recently alleged that she suffered “extreme verbal, emotional and psychological abuse” during their short-lived romance.
Amid the messy divorce, professional dancer Cheryl, 40, spoke out about a shocking interaction she had with the musician in 2007, when they starred together on Dancing With The Stars.
Cheryl claimed during a recent episode of her podcast Sex, lies and spray tans that she witnessed Billy Ray’s ‘physical hurt’ the stage manager.
She said he gave the crew member a “donkey kick” “out of the blue” because he asked the star to “stand in place” during a dress rehearsal.
Cheryl Burke has claimed Billy Ray Cyrus ‘donkey kicked’ a crew member during Dancing With The Stars rehearsals. They are seen together in 2014
Billy Ray, 62, has been in the news lately – after her ex-wife Firerose, 34, claimed she suffered “extreme verbal, emotional and psychological abuse” during their romance
Amid the messy divorce, professional dancer Cheryl, 40, spoke out about a shocking interaction she had with the musician in 2007, when they both starred together on Dancing With The Stars
“I love Billy Ray. He was always so nice to me. But I have to tell you the story,” Cheryl told guest Jill Escoto in the episode, which aired late last month.
“We have a dress rehearsal right before we go live, about two hours before the show, and we do it like it’s real, except it’s an R-rated version because [host] Tom Bergeron always had nonsense to say and it was so funny.’
She added that while they were all joking and laughing, they also took their dancing “very seriously” during the dress rehearsal.
“We still had to get to our seats,” she explained.
But when a stage manager asked Billy Ray to “stand in his place” so “the director could light him,” the Achy Breaky Heart singer ignored him, she said.
Cheryl claims the stage manager repeated his question several times until Billy Ray, having had enough, suddenly physically attacked him.
‘[The stage manager had] had asked three, four times, and Billy Ray kicked him out of nowhere. Straight donkey kicked him,” she continued.
She said she knew the stage manager “personally” and that he had been “so nice” to Billy Ray before.
Cheryl claimed during a recent episode of her podcast that she witnessed Billy Ray “physically hurting” the stage manager. He appears on the show with dance partner Karina Smirnoff
She said he gave the crew member a “donkey kick” “out of the blue” for asking the star to “stand in his place” during a dress rehearsal. He and Karina appear on the show
‘Ddon’t kick him, let alone, don’t do it “Kick everybody,” she said hoarsely. “It was a mess. His time was up. It wasn’t okay. It came out of nowhere.’
When Jill asked if it might have been “an accident,” Cheryl insisted that it was obvious to those around him that it wasn’t.
She also theorized that Billy Ray was tense because he was “getting nagged by the jury.”
‘No, it was very intentional. Maybe he was nervous, but you can’t physically h“You are somebody,” she said.
‘You have to do your job. We are ‘By the way, I’m not doing this for nothing.’
She and Billy Ray both appeared in season four of the show; he and his dance partner, Karina Smirnoff was ultimately eliminated seventh, while Cheryl and her teammate Ian Ziering were evicted from the team an episode later.
DailyMail.com has contacted representatives for Billy Ray and Dancing With The Stars for comment.
Billy Ray filed for divorce from Firerose in late May, just seven months after they tied the knot.
He indicated that irreconcilable differences of opinion and ‘inappropriate marital conduct’ were the reasons for their separation.
Furthermore, it was reported by Yes! that Billy Ray had filed for an annulment, claiming the marriage had been entered into fraudulently.
According to court documents, he gave his consent to the marriage based on his wife’s deceit, and if he had known that, he would never have gotten married.
It is also said that Billy Ray insisted that Firerose move out of the home they shared in Nashville, Tennessee by May 23.
‘[The stage manager had] three, four times, and Billy Ray kicked him out of nowhere. Straight donkey kicked him,” she said. He can be seen on DWTS with Miley in 2007
Following Billy Ray’s split from Firerose, DailyMail.com has exclusively obtained an audiotape of the country star ridiculing, belittling and bullying her
Earlier this month, she filed a motion to recover property, claiming her ex-husband would not allow her to return to the home to retrieve her belongings.
In his response to the motion, Billy Ray cited a July 11 Page Six report in which Firerose discussed her previous arrest, for which she served 60 days in jail.
“This arrest was something that Mr. Cyrus was not aware of and because [Firerose] had previously lied and concealed things about her life before Mr. Cyrus, his lawyer, began investigating further [her] ‘statements’, the documents state.
However, text messages obtained by DailyMail.com appear to contradict these claims, showing the country star engaged in conversations in which his wife openly referred to the incident.
In a November 2023 group chat with Billy Ray, his wife, and his manager and publicist Scott Adkins, the three discuss a new song inspired by Firerose’s dark period, including her time in prison.
In court documents, Firerose also alleged that Billy Ray was “erratic and unpredictable” due to alleged substance abuse problems.
The Australian singer claimed she felt “unsafe” with him in their Nashville home and “had to seek emergency treatment from her therapist on more than one occasion.”
Billy Ray quickly responded, claiming in his own documents that Firerose was the one abusing the marriage, not him.
The documents state: ‘While the claimant will acknowledge that he certainly expressed his displeasure with the defendant in May 2024 and that he was frustrated and angry, it is the claimant who was in fact the victim of abuse.
‘Not only verbally and emotionally abused by the suspect, but also PHYSICALLY abused by the suspect.’
Billy Ray also accused his wife of making $96,986 in “fraudulent charges” on his credit cards. He claimed Firerose was never authorized as a signatory on his cards or accounts. The judge ordered her to stop using his credit cards.
Earlier this week, DailyMail.com obtained exclusive access to an audiotape that shows the country star relentlessly and brutally mocking, belittling and bullying his much younger wife.
During the confrontation, which appeared to have been sparked by Billy Ray’s anger over being late to go onstage for a show, he warned her, “If you had just left it alone, I’m going to be really fucking pissed off right now and I’m going to show you once again that you won’t listen.
He responded to the recording hours later by posting a statement on his Instagram Stories, writing: ‘Yes, I was at my wits end’
‘I don’t know who the f**k you think you are, but you won’t listen… This ain’t about nothing, this is about you being a selfish f**king b***h.’
Billy Ray continued his profanity-laced tirade, grinning, “I don’t think you’re really smart, I changed my mind about that shit. I think you’re a selfish f**king b***h. That’s what you are.”
As she begged him to ‘please stop screaming’, he told her: ‘This wouldn’t be happening if you had just kept your f**king mouth shut. Look at the f**king mess you’ve made.
What a stupid donkey [you are] …’cause you gotta know I don’t tolerate that shit. You just fucked up…f**k you. You know better than that. F**king idiot.’
A few hours later, he responded to the recording by posting a statement on his Instagram Stories.
“Yes, I didn’t know,” he began, then angrily explained his temperament.
‘As the day went on, I started to realize something was wrong. And that was before I knew she was a cheater.
“I just knew something wasn’t right. That was before I knew she was David Hodges’ ex-wife.
“That was before I knew her parents’ last name. I had no idea she had been arrested for a felony burglary.
“I saw with my own eyes that everything I thought I knew about her was a lie. She tried to take over my career, my life, and abuse the Cyrus name for her own gain.”
Billy Ray concluded his statement with, “See you in court.”