Miley Cyrus’s Mom, Explained: The Real Story Behind the Jayme Lee Rumors

File this under: stories I did not have on my 2025 bingo card. An Arizona woman went to court claiming she is Miley Cyrus' biological mother. Yes, really. It got weirder from there, and then a judge shut it down fast.

The claim, in plain English

According to filings in Tennessee, a woman named Jayme Lee sued in May, saying she gave birth to Miley in 1992 when she was 12 years old. Lee says Billy Ray Cyrus and Tish Cyrus-Purcell adopted the baby, and that there was an understanding she would stay in Miley's life as a nanny and piano teacher.

Her lawsuit accused Miley's parents of a bunch of things: breach of contract, fraud and misrepresentation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and interfering with parental rights. In June, she amended the complaint to add child abuse and endangerment. She also argued any adoption paperwork was invalid because, as a minor, she could not legally consent. Lee claimed the Cyruses later cut her off and threatened to call the police if she tried to make contact.

In one especially head-spinning assertion, Lee said that back in 1992, while trying to get a lawyer for visitation, she was attacked and traumatized, and only recently remembered how she supposedly became Miley's parent. She asked the court to order maternal and paternal DNA testing.

Who else did she drag in?

• Dolly Parton was added as a defendant, with Lee claiming Dolly had direct knowledge about the supposed concealment of Miley's parentage and adoption status.
• Taylor Swift was subpoenaed in November to return an alleged scrapbook Lee says she gave Miley at age 12.
• Julia Roberts, Hillary Clinton, Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne, and Neil Patrick Harris were all listed as eyewitnesses. Yes, that is the list.

The court response: swift and definitive

Billy Ray Cyrus called the lawsuit false and absurd and moved to dismiss, arguing (among other things) that in Tennessee you cannot adopt a child without a court order, which makes Lee's story legally unworkable from the jump. On December 1, he filed a formal response to the amended complaint and asked the court to make Lee cover his legal fees if and when the case was tossed.

On December 5, the Davidson County Circuit Court dismissed the case with prejudice and ordered that Billy Ray recover his reasonable attorney fees and costs. Translation: the case is over, and Lee cannot refile it in that court.

The court dismissed the lawsuit with prejudice and awarded Billy Ray Cyrus his attorney fees and costs.

Tish has not commented publicly on any of this.

The internet saw through it immediately

Even before the ruling, social media treated the filing like a bad joke. People pointed out, repeatedly, that Miley looks a whole lot like Tish. One commenter on December 9 summed up the vibe: there may not be a daughter who looks more like her mom than Miley does.

Where Miley is actually at right now

Off the legal drama, Miley is in post-engagement mode with fiance Maxx Morando and, by her own account, tight with both her parents despite their divorce. She recently told the New York Times that her song 'End of the World' was inspired in part by her mom, recalling a moment at the Chateau Marmont when singing the line 'You have been thinking about the future like it is already yours' hit her especially hard with Tish in the front row.

And for anyone still trying to stir up family-feud rumors, Miley addressed it straight on Instagram:

'I rarely comment on rumors, but my mama and I are too tight for anything to ever come between us. She is my best friend.'

So, to recap: a truly bizarre lawsuit claimed Miley was secretly adopted, tried to rope in Dolly Parton and Taylor Swift (plus a random celebrity bingo card), and then got dismissed with prejudice while awarding Billy Ray his legal fees. Meanwhile, Miley and her mom are fine.