Random Dark Behind-The-Scenes Stories From 'Hannah Montana' (12 items)

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  (#6) In Many Ways It Sounds Like The Show Destroyed Billy Ray Himself

  In the GQ interview, Billy Ray was adamant about the fact he had "never made a dime off of Miley." His protestations sounded defensive, but what bothered him more was watching "the train [go] off the track" in terms of Miley's public life.

  In addition, he felt like he was made a scapegoat for everything she did - not by Miley, but her managers, who he claimed would always publicly blame him for her outlandish behavior at the time:

  Her people, or as they say in today's news, her handlers, every time they'd put me... "Somebody's shooting at Miley! Put the old man up there!" Well, I took it, because I'm her daddy, and that's what daddies do. "Okay, nail me to the cross, I'll take it..." All those people around, they used me every time. It became so obvious that, man, no matter what happens, they're going to put you up there and let you take the bullet.

  In 2011, he discussed what the show had done to his daughter:

  I've done some stupid crap - I do stupid crap. We all do. But it's different when you sit back and you see it happening to your little girl. I feel like I got to try. It's my daughter. And some of these handlers are perhaps more interested in handling Miley's money than her safety and her career.
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  (#8) One Writer Even Claimed Disney Had Stolen His Idea

  Buddy Sheffield was a writer for the sketch comedy show In Living Color, but he later moved into the realm of children's entertainment, writing a show for Nickelodeon called Roundhouse and pitching a show to Disney called Rock and Roland. The story of the latter centered around an average middle schooler who was secretly a pop star under a pseudonym - the exact plot of Hannah Montana.

  Though Disney reportedly showed interest, they ultimately passed on the idea. Though Disney refuted Sheffield's claims, they settled with him in 2008.
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  (#9) At Age 19, Cody Linley Got Publicly Drunk At A Club

  Cody Linley, who played Jake Ryan, AKA Miley's boyfriend on the show, got caught being drunk in public at a club in Orlando, FL, despite being only 19 years old. Since the Disney Channel show, Linley has starred in Dancing with the Stars and the fourth Sharknado movie.

  He told MTV in 2016 that his character in Sharknado 4 was exactly like the one he had played on Hannah Montana, describing it as "Jake Ryan 2.0" and suggesting he might have become pigeonholed.
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  (#3) Miley Had A Topless Photo Shoot As A Minor

  At the height of her Hannah Montana popularity (while she was only 15), Miley had a photoshoot with Vanity Fair, posing topless while covered with a sheet, sometimes even with her father present in the image. Huffington Post covered the photo session extensively at the time, reporting the young star saying she was "embarrassed," and that photographer Annie Leibovitz offered a tepid apology, "I'm sorry that my portrait of Miley has been misinterpreted."

  Disney subsequently released a statement that one could only describe as rich, saying, "Unfortunately, as the article suggests, a situation was created to deliberately manipulate a 15-year-old in order to sell magazines." It seems that no one had the best interests of the child in mind, a sad reality that continued into Miley's adulthood. 
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  (#7) A Lot Of People Felt They Were Underpaid

  Miley herself felt she was underpaid for her work on Hannah Montana, claiming to Elle she may have been making the least of all the cast, as she and her family were too ignorant about Hollywood to realize the exploitation. The show's co-creators may have even had a stronger claim to inadequate compensation. 

  Creators Michael Poryes, Barry O'Brien, and Richard Correll all filed complaints against Disney, claiming a breach of contract. O'Brien and Correll filed separately from Poryes, and that turned out to be an issue, as Disney actually settled with Poryes while the arbitrator sided with Disney in the case of the first two.

  The Hollywood Reporter offered an in-depth analysis of the two cases, making a convincing argument that Poryes might have lucked out by getting an arbitrator who was more inclined to side against the mega-corporation. 
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  (#5) There Was A Strain In The Familial Relationships

  Miley and her father Billy Ray had something of a falling out after Hannah Montana. There was a public and strange scandal in which Miley appeared to accuse her father of cheating on her mother, which she did via Twitter. She sent a tweet reading:

  @billyraycyrus since you won't reply to my texts I'm giving you an hour to tell the truth or ill tell it for you.

  Attached was a picture of Miley herself posing with an unnamed woman, the insinuation being that Billy Ray had had an affair with this woman. The tweet disappeared just a few minutes later and Miley posted something suggesting her account had been hacked. However, the damage had been done, and both the tweet and picture are part of the public record.

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