Billy Ray Cyrus stands up for his Slutty Daughter Miley Cyrus

BILLY RAY CYRUS says he's "amazed" by his daughter MILEY's perseverance in the face of the recent controversy over her Vanity Fair shoot, in which she appeared to be topless underneath a sheet.

"I can't imagine being her age and going through what she went through," he tells OK! magazine. "I'm amazed she kept on."

"I know the business can eat you alive, but I'm a calloused old veteran, and she's a young, teenage girl," he says. "It's a heck of a storm to survive even with maturity."

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Currently, his only advice is for the busy Miley to slow down. "I tell her to get some sleep," he says. "I swear I would try to protect her as far as sleep goes."

Easier said than done! Billy Ray is having a hard time taking his own advice, while working on the new 'Hannah Montana' movie, a new album and hosting the CBS reality show "Nashville Star," sleep is not on the calendar.

"I'm going to fit that into next year's schedule," he says jokingly. "My motto is 'Sleep when you're dead.'"