Richard Simmons is not only a dancer and a motivator -- he's also a musician, and he's speaking out on Miley Cyrus' much-maligned 2013 MTV VMAs performance as well on his favorite pop star of right now, Katy Perry.

He begins by gushing about Perry, revealing that he'd love to collaborate with the 'ROAR' singer.

"A couple months ago I wrote a song to do a duet with Katy called 'A Fast Moving Train to Nowhere,'" Simmons told Entertainment Tonight. "I just love her voice. I also love that she empowers. We all sing for different reasons, but then you have someone like Katy Perry, like Barbra Streisand, like Lady Gaga, like Beyonce ... those songs are for self-esteem."

When he cries, don't you die a little bit inside?

As for the twerking thing? Well, he's not going to say anything bad about Miley -- or anyone else, for that matter, ever -- but he clearly didn't love it.

"Miley Cyrus, like all of us, needs to be loved," Simmons sighed. "We all come from complicated parents. Was it over the top? Yes. Why does she do that? To entertain the young people -- and to cry out, 'Will you love me?' Complicated parents and success as a young girl, it's just ..." Simmons voice broke. "It's just a lot going on. But I'm going to tell you something: I understand her. And I love her. And I think things will be different with her."

He explains further, "You know, in the music business, you have to shock a little. Can Lady Gaga just come out in a short, black dress from H&M and sing a quiet little song, her version of 'Over the Rainbow?' Yeah, but people want pizzazz. They want spectacular. They want amazing," he said. "They want to keep topping and topping until they're a 10-foot wedding cake. A lot of young people want that. They come from parents having many problems of their own -- and every parent is doing the best they can."

Translation? Blame Billy Ray!

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