Billy Ray Cyrus relates to Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt?

Billy Ray Cyrus is said to be "deeply hurt" by Miley Cyrus's latest move.

As the Flowers hitmaker dropped her last name in a shocking move, sources claim that Billy understands actors like Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise's pain over their children publicly dropping their famous names.

"Billy is putting on a brave face – but behind the scenes, he's deeply hurt," a source told Radar Online.

The source further added, "Billy suddenly understands how Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise must feel."

"Watching your child publicly stop using your name is emotional. You can tell yourself it's branding, but you're still their dad," they noted.

As the American singer and actor worked out his differences with his daughter Miley Cyrus, sources claim that he was majorly hurt because he thinks "he was so blindsided by this."

"But he doesn't want to say or do anything that will cause any more trouble between them," the source added.

This comes as Miley recently dropped her last name "Cyrus" ahead of her tenth studio album, Bass Persuades, which was released on September 18, 2026.

Notably, it is also said that the Hannah Montana star's decision comes after the death of her grandmother Dolly Parton, suggesting that she has entered "a dark place" as she and Dolly were "inseparable."

"Everyone knows they were inseparable, so to be dealing with this when she's already struggling is a true hammer blow that's knocked her totally sideways."

Despite Billy's constant support to Miley publicly, insiders suggest that this move comes as a blow to his ego. "Billy Ray will always support Miley publicly, and he moved quickly to try and control the narrative [with the name change] by praising her from the rooftops and declaring how proud he is of her."

"But he's privately feeling the burn big-time. It's his name, and Miley's essentially ripped it up and tossed it in the trash," the insider added further.

For those unaware, Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt have been through similar situation. The Mission: Impossible star's daughter Suri, whom he shares with Nicole Kidman dropped his name and the Formula One actor's several kids with Angelina Jolie have dropped their father's last name.