Abby Lee Miller was born September 21, 1965, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Maryen Lorrain Miller and George Miller. Abby would practically live in her mother’s dance studio her entire life before opening the Abby Lee Dance Company at age 14 in the 1980’s. The original studio was opened in Pittsburgh and was under the residency of her mother’s studio. It had major success in the area and boomed after the release of Dance Moms in 2011. The show saw massive success with its cast of beautiful dancers and crazy moms. Abby eventually used this success to grow her business, and she opened a second location in LA in 2014 and focused more of her effort on the LA location. Her career grew and flourished until 2017, when she had to serve a year-long jail sentence for fraud, according to Deadline. Rejoining the cast in 2018, she suffered various ailments, including a cancer diagnosis that left her confined to a wheelchair.
As of 2023, she had announced that she was planning a new series, not season 9 of Dance Moms to much disappointment. But on September 9, she released a trailer where she stated, “I am not looking for an elite team anymore. I’m looking for a professional working group of dancers.” The show, Mad House, premiered on Brandon TV on September 29, 2023, and from my research does not have much information on it. While many OG Dance Moms fans seemed excited at first, there has not been any major buzz. For someone with such a remarkable career and successful business ventures, her fall from grace may seem like a surprise to an outsider. Once you look deeper, you will see why many are choosing not to support the reality stars’ new show. Below, I have detailed parts of her history that have kept me from supporting the new show.
Abby’s racism
A big reason I am not surprised there wasn’t much discussion or hype for this show is because of the criticism Abby Lee Miller and the Dance Moms show has received in the last couple of years. Miller and the show have received criticism in general for obvious racist jabs or nicknames. To start off, a major player in Dance Moms being canceled was past racism that Miller had endorsed on the show towards Dance Mom Adriana Smith’s daughter Kamryn Smith, who came in and joined the OG’s to form the Irreplaceables in season seven. Smith called Miller out over Instagram in 2020 when Miller posted a black square for the murder of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement. Entertainment Weekly reported on the back and forth after Smith reposted it and exposed Miller for using Kamryn as the token black kid. She also stated that Kamryn was hired because the show needed a ‘sprinkle of color.’ Miller was forced to issue an apology after receiving backlash that many criticized for being insincere, including the Smith family saying that if she meant it, she would have apologized to them while they were on the show. This was not the only time Abby’s racism and bias were called into action, as seen with the stereotyping and typecasting of OG member Nia Frazier, who was given what Abby called ‘ethnic dances.’ Nia’s mom, Holly Frazier, called out dances like ‘Laquifa’ for portraying Nia in a way that made Nia a silly character with a harmful name often given when making fun of black women. Nia was often excluded by Abby but told that her ethnicity gave her things the other girls could not have, while commonly insulting her and shooting her down for significant opportunities. In a lawsuit against the production company from Kelly Hyland, Hyland calls out the racism directed towards Nia specifically and how Abby was not given any punishment for it by the production company.
Nia’s position on Dance Moms is questionable as for the first six seasons, Nia was the only black dancer on the company who was not used as a villain or used to oppose one of Abby’s favorites (i.e. Mackenzie Ziegler and Asia Ray). She was the one used to play characters such as a slave or Rosa Parks, and those were her very few moments to be the lead in a group dance because she was the only black dancer on the team or to get back at her mother. While Abby viewed other dancers as actors or pop stars, Abby often sabotaged Nia and put her down in auditions, as seen in the season five audition where she criticizes Nia’s choices in front of the casting agents. In a meet and greet in July 2015, Abby reveals she did not want Nia to be a pop star like Kendall or Mackenzie, but instead be a blues star, citing her race as a main reason why. Nia, on the other hand wanted to be a popstar and chose to go with Aubrey O’Day to produce her singing career which Abby took offense to and took it out on her. Nia politely and respectfully asked her to move past and leave her music career at the door, Abby replied asking Nia if she could forgive a murderer. Holly took offense to this statement as it was weird to say to a black girl in the current political climate. She tried to sabotage and exclude her from group activities just to get back at her, which was unfair and made Nia feel as though she had no friends besides Jojo Siwa.
Dance Moms’ Teaching Style
Miller’s teaching methods have also garnered major criticism by those who loved the show, being viewed as harsh and harmful to the students. While Abby will defend her actions on her YouTube channel, she continues to say it made the girls stronger. Many people including the cast members have stated that her defense is false and did the opposite. Her favoritism of Maddie Ziegler has become a meme within the community, but Miller’s actions had harsh consequences on the cast and even hurt Maddie by causing trust issues with her friends. Chloe Lukasiak, a former dancer, left in the fourth season of the show due to Abby’s comment on a psychical ailment that made her very insecure has opened up about since leaving the show. Lukasiak has stated to Teen Vogue Miller has traumatized her and on her YouTube channel in a deleted video states how they refused to sign back on to the ALDC due to its restrictive contract that included clauses about dancers’ weight and how she would take a percent of their earnings. Chloe’s mother on her own YouTube stated that Chloe developed an eating disorder, and it went unnoticed by many. Abby often commented on the girl’s appearance, but Chloe was not the only one who experienced body image issues because of it. On the show Abby made Pressley Hosbach cry and criticize her own body, causing her mother Ashley Hosbach to call Miller out on making her daughter feel like she has to change her body. Audience members are forced to watch Miller’s dismissive behavior as Ashley rightfully calls out her actions. All the girls are subjected to this treatment at one point, but some more than others. Many of the mom’s often comment on why they keep their daughters at Miller’s dance studio if it makes their daughters so miserable.
Miller’s teaching style was even called into question legally in 2014 when former dancer, Paige Hyland, sued Miller for $5 million dollars for an abusive environment. International Business Times goes over the documents that cite incidents where Abby has pinched her until she bled. The court documents heighten the severity of the torment by detailing an incident shown on the show where Miller threw a chair at Hyland while upset with Kelly Hyland. Paige Hyland was often accosted by appearance comments and ridiculed for every aspect of herself as a way to get back at her mother, Kelly Hyland. In the court documents, it details the intense work environment the girls were subjected to, not just Paige, with emotional distress and issues that would lead to larger issues, as touched on earlier. On Kelly Hyland’s podcast, “Back to the Barre”, Paige was often set up for failure and many of the panic attacks Paige had on camera were real and a result of the fear of Abby’s reaction. A specific incident was when producers made the Hyland’s get a secret choreographer for the competition behind Abby’s back, and Paige is seen having a breakdown in a bathroom because she is terrified of Abby’s reaction not wanting to go through with it. While the case may have been dismissed by a judge for ‘insufficient evidence’, a psychologist was brought in after Abby blew up on the kids or moms (confirmed by Abby and former cast members). These facts create a new light on the girls’ actions and reactions on the show, which provided context for the intense reactions from parents when their children were crying.
Fetishizing Young Children
If you look at Abby’s TikTok, her videos often fetishize young male dancers in uncomfortable manors. She has justified her actions in recent interviews by downplaying to media personnel, but also stated in the Los Angeles Times that she finds young football stars to be attractive and always will. Her attraction to younger men has never been a secret as in the series she is shown fawning over younger men like Jordy Rodriguez, and seeming unamused by guys her own age, Louie in season three. According to the LA Times, Abby views herself as someone who is in her 20’s when dating even though the dance teacher is in her late 50’s. While her creepy TikToks and comments about male dancers often don’t go as discussed, her fetishization of her young female dancers has been highly broadcasted on the show.
Imagine, you are the mother of a young eight-year-old dancer, waiting to see your daughter perform her group dance at a competition. The music comes on and your daughter walks out in a ‘skimpy’ black and blue outfit. Your stomach drops and you watch your daughter smack her butt as men in the crowd begin to cat call and holler at her. Sounds horrible, but unfortunately was a reality in season one of Dance Moms with the dance, “Electricity.” The dance was highly inappropriate for young girls to perform, and the moms called this fact out multiple times and Abby shut them down. This dance was heavily criticized and is still frowned upon by many fans of the show, personally I have to skip this episode because I feel uncomfortable watching the dance. Despite the backlash, Abby Lee loves this dance, ranking it in her top five of the girls dances from seasons one through three. It is extremely uncomfortable and not the only time Abby was called out for having such young girls involved in an inappropriate dance. In season two there is an episode that was banned due to the dance’s content that was discussed by The Hollywood Reporter. Episode nine of the season two, titled “Topless Showgirls”, was pulled from streaming and reruns of the show due to the dance that contained flesh-colored costumes and was meant to simulate topless fan dancing. The episode was pulled as this was completely unfit for literal children. Abby is fine with this and repeatedly tells them to be hotter or sexier, which for older dancers is still questionable but for young children is absolutely stomach turning. Abby’s constant fetishizing of young girls makes you question her views on the children and their purpose to the audience.
Final Thoughts
These are just three major reasons I refuse to support Abby Lee Miller’s new projects and new show. As a future educator, these three facts horrify me that a teacher could express this so openly and not face repercussions in a business aspect. When entering a teaching environment where there is an obvious power dynamic in play, a teacher must recognize the power their words and actions hold on their students. While students may pretend to not care, approval from a teacher/peer is a huge part of their psychological development. The dancers wanted Abby’s approval and love like other students got, but Abby took advantage of that to ridicule and exile them within their small group. Abby pushed harmful narratives and stereotypes onto her students from a young age that caused her students to have to face the mental challenges that came along with prolonged demeaning and stress to be the best. While everyone from the show has experienced backlash for their actions on the show, she is the only one who has never truly felt sincere to me or simply uses her years of teaching and success to justify her actions. I can’t blame the mothers for keeping their kids in class on the show as many of the moms have been extremely open about how restrictive the contracts were, but Abby’s actions towards the kids were not scripted and not forced. Many stating that Abby was worse off screen, makes me question what all we did not see if the things on screen were already so extreme. That is who she is as a person and it all comes down to if I can separate the art from the artist, and I can’t watch knowing what I know from an educator standpoint.
Sources:
Carmodance. “Abby Lee Miller Talks About Nia Frazier (Meet and Greet July 25).” YouTube, 26 July 2015, Abby Lee Miller Talks About Nia Frazier (meet and greet july 25).
Elizabeth, De. “Why Chloe Lukasiak Is Actually Grateful for Her Time with Abby Lee Miller.” Teen Vogue, Teen Vogue, 15 Aug. 2017, www.teenvogue.com/story/chloe-lukasiak-abby-lee-miller-lessons-dance-moms.
Goldstein, Joelle. “Dance Moms’ Christi & Chloe Lukasiak Call Abby Lee Miller Source of All Drama.” Peoplemag, PEOPLE, 1 Aug. 2017, people.com/tv/dance-moms-chloe-lukasiak-christi-lukasiak-talk-abby-lee-miller-drama-season-8/.
Hogan, Kate, and Michele Corriston. “From Dance Moms to 8 Months in Prison: Abby Lee Miller’s Ups and Downs.” Peoplemag, PEOPLE, 28 Mar. 2018, people.com/tv/abby-lee-miller-ups-and-downs/.
Hyland, Kelly. “Case BC536331 Kelly Hyland et al vs Collins Avenue Entertainment LLC et al – Trellis: Legal Intelligence + Judicial Analytics.” Trellis.Law, 2014, trellis.law/case/bc536331/kelly-hyland-et-al-vs-collins-avenue-entertainment-llc-et-al.
Nededog, Jethro. “‘Dance Moms’ ‘topless’ Fan Dance Episode Pulled from Air.” The Hollywood Reporter, The Hollywood Reporter, 26 Mar. 2012, www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/dance-moms-lifetime-pulls-topless-showgirls-episode-304181/.
Patten, Dominic. “‘dance Moms’ Host Abby Lee Miller Says She’s Exiting Show as Jail Time Looms.” Deadline, Deadline, 27 Mar. 2017, deadline.com/2017/03/dance-moms-abby-lee-miller-quits-fraud-case-sentencing-jail-lifetime-collins-avenue-1202053136/.
Schumann, Rebecka. “Paige Hyland Files Abuse Lawsuit against Abby Lee Miller.” International Business Times, International Business Times, 3 Feb. 2015, www.ibtimes.com/dance-moms-lawsuit-paige-hyland-13-suing-abby-lee-miller-abuse-read-teens-jaw-1703006.
St.Martin, Emily. “Abby Lee Miller Confessed an Attraction to ‘high School Football Players.’ Now She’s Backtracking.” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 11 Sept. 2023, www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2023-09-11/abby-lee-miller-still-attracted-to-high-school-football-players.
Yang, Rachel. “Abby Lee Miller Apologizes after ‘dance Moms’ Alums Call Her out for Racist Remarks.” EW.Com, Entertainment Weekly, 5 June 2020, ew.com/tv/dance-moms-abby-lee-miller-apologizes-racist-remarks/.