Billy Ray Cyrus can be heard calling his ex-wife Firerose a 'selfish b****' and a 'f****** idiot' in the leaked audio recording. Photo / Getty Images
An explosive audio recording has been leaked of country singer Billy Ray Cyrus berating his estranged wife Firerose as the two prepare to battle out their divorce in court.
Billy Ray Cyrus branded Firerose “dumb” and “selfish” in an expletive-filled rant.
The Achy Breaky Heart hitmaker’s estranged wife has accused the 62-year-old singer of subjecting her to months of “extreme verbal, emotional and psychological abuse” and a new audio tape seems to back up her allegations as he berated her during a row that appeared to be related to his timings for a performance.
Cyrus addressed the recording in a statement made on Instagram soon after it was leaked to the press.
He admitted to going on the tirade against his ex-wife yet stopped short of apologising for his actions, instead writing that he was at his “wit’s end” at the time of the recording and claiming that Firerose was trying to “take over” his life.
“Hell yeah I was at my wit’s end,” he wrote. “As every day went by, I started realizing something was wrong. And that’s before I knew she was a fraud.
“I just knew something wasn’t right. That was before I knew she was David Hodges ex-wife. That’s before I knew her parents last name. 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 life. She was trying to take over my career, my life and usurp the Cyrus name for own gain.
“See you in court,” Cyrus added at the end of the statement.
Audio obtained by DailyMail.com and Us Weekly magazine hears Cyrus say: “I needed to leave two hours ago.”
Firerose replied: “No you didn’t, you can still leave.”
Her spouse then yelled: “Get the f*** out of here. I had to go when I was ready to go. If you had just shut the f*** up …”
The Australian singer then urged the country star to “please stop screaming” at her, which only further infuriated him.
He ranted in response: “If you would’ve left it the f*** alone. If you would’ve left it alone when I told you, it’s done. Now I’m really f****** p*****. You once again showed me you will not listen. I don’t know who the f*** you think you are but you will not f****** listen.
“This ain’t about your BRCA, this ain’t about your surgery, this ain’t about nothing. This is about you being a f****** selfish b****.”
The Some Gave All singer then declared he didn’t think his wife was “real smart”.
He added: “I’ve changed my damn mind on that s***. What you are is a selfish b****.
“You cannot continue to walk all over me and think that I’m going to go out in public with your dumb a** and f****** have you do this s*** anywhere you want in front of whomever.”
Firerose then asked if her spouse was referring to “screaming at me right now,” and he replied, “This would not be happening if you were to just shut your f****** mouth. Look what a f****** mess you’ve made. What a dumba** f****** thing to do.”
The 35-year-old beauty insisted she just wanted the country star to be “happy” but he retorted: “No. F*** you. F*** you. You know better than that. F****** idiot.”
Firerose previously claimed she found Cyrus’s rants “terrifying”.
She told the New York Post newspaper’s Page Six column last month: “He would rage at me, shout at me at the top of his lungs. He would terrify me, yelling, ‘You stupid dumb f****** b****, crazy w****.
“It was illogical and insane and terrifying.”
And after Cyrus’ lawyers made public a handwritten note allegedly from his estranged wife in which she begged for “a chance to make this right”, Firerose insisted it didn’t mean he hadn’t been abusive.
She said: “He’s attempting to use my loving notes as proof that he could not have been abusing me because I love him. But it’s because you love them that you tolerate this behaviour.”
Cyrus has previously “vehemently” denied allegations that he was abusive toward Firerose and he himself is accusing her of abuse in his own court documents.
Additional reporting by NZ Herald.