Elizabeth Hurleyhas never been squeamish about scandal. This is a woman who rode out the Hugh Grant years, the Versace safety‑pin dress and a tabloid education in how famous men behave. So the idea that she would suddenly lose her nerve over an ugly audio clip and an ex‑wife's fury always felt unlikely.

And, by the sound of it, she hasn't.

According to US reports, the 60‑year‑old actress is standing firmly by Billy Ray Cyrus as his very brief marriage to Australian singer Firerose implodes in public, complete with allegations of emotional abuse and a leaked recording that would make most people drop their phone in disgust.

Hurley, friends say, is doing the opposite: brushing it off and carrying on.

Hurley and Billy Ray, 64, quietly began seeing each other last year, an unlikely Anglo‑American pairing that has since hardened into something more settled. They rang in the new year together with Hurley's 23‑year‑old son Damian – as clear a sign as any that this is not just a passing fling.

A source quoted by US tabloidGlobepaints the relationship as 'going strong', despite the storm now swirling around Cyrus.

That storm has a name and a face: Firerose, the Nashville‑based singer‑songwriter (real name Johanna Hodges) who met Billy Ray on the set ofHannah Montanawhen she was 22 and he was 26 years older. The two eventually married, but the union lasted barely seven months before disintegrating into restraining orders and accusations.

Now, Firerose has gone public with what she says she endured. In posts on social media and interviews with US outlets, she has branded Cyrus 'selfish' and 'cruel', and shared what she claims is an audio recording of him berating her over the phone.

In the clip, he appears to mock her history of major surgery and a genetically high risk of cancer. 'This ain't about your cancer gene, this ain't about your surgeries – this is about you being a fing selfish bh!' the male voice yells.

If the recording is genuine, it is hideous. It also lands differently in a culture – and a music industry – that has finally begun to talk, however haltingly, about coercive control and emotional abuse.

Source: International Business Times UK