Remember the brouhaha after Vanity Fair released provocative pictures of Disney good-girl Miley Cyrus? Well, now her dad, Billy Ray Cyrus, is speaking out and says he wasn’t present when the infamous bare-back shot was taken, but in hindsight wishes he had stayed to chaperone: “So I was surprised when I saw it, you know, but … stuff happens. That’s life.”

The duo was also criticized for a photo that features Miley Cyrus revealing her midriff as her father holds her in his arms. Billy Ray Cyrus says he’s sorry if the photo offended anyone, but he doesn’t see it as a mistake, “just a daddy that loves his daughter a whole lot.”

Cyrus said he and Miley “got caught up in this adventure that we’ve gone through with this dream, and what we do for a living. … We both love acting, we love making music and we love each other. I’m her dad and she’s my daughter, so if a daddy hasn’t hugged his daughter recently, I’d recommend he does.”