BILLY Ray Cyrus finally weighed in about the sexy Vanity Fair photo spread that drew so much unwanted attention to his daughter, Miley, aka Hannah Montana.

“I didn’t [complain],” he told the “Today” show’s Meredith Vieira this morning. ” ‘Cause my dad always said, ‘The more you stomp in poop, the more it stinks.’ ”

Cyrus said he wasn’t aware that celebrity shutterbug Annie Lebovitz was going to take half-naked pictures of his 15-year-old daughter, although only her back was showing.

The questionable pics were shot after he had left the studio to do a show for war-weary US troops who had returned from the Middle East.

“I didn’t have any choice,” he said. “I had a show to do, and an obligation to go to Washington state . . . playing for the troops just back from Iraq.

“I didn’t know they were going to strip her down and wrap her in a blanket,” said Cyrus, who was appearing to promote his NBC show “Nashville Star.”

“I was surprised when I saw it,” he said of the picture which appeared in the June issue of the Vanity Fair. “But, hey, that’s life. Stuff happens.”

Billy Ray and Miley have become larger-than-life stars thanks to the success of their Disney channel show, “Hannah Montana.” On the show, she plays a character loosely based on herself – a teen whose alter ego is the biggest pop star in the world.