Billy Ray Cyrus 'proud' of pole-dancing Miley

Billy Ray Cyrus has defended daughter Miley's pole-dancing at the recent Teen Choice Awards, saying she was just "entertaining" her fans.

The 16-year-old singer-and-actress caused controversy with her provocative performance at the annual event but the Achy Breaky Heart singer insists there was nothing wrong with it.

He said: "You know what? I just think that Miley loves entertaining people. She loves singing and songwriting."

While many critics claim Miley is too young to be so sexually provocative – especially as her fan base is mainly impressionable girls – Billy encourages his daughter to ignore the negative comments.

He told US TV show Access Hollywood: "I always tell her to love what you're doing and stay focused for the love of the art and not worry so much about opinion."

During her performance of her song Party in the USA, Miley was pushed up onto an ice-cream cart by her backing dancers, before crouching and gyrating next to a metal pole attached to the top of the cart.

- BANG! SHOWBIZ