The cast of Dancing mothers is getting back together for the first time, but it sounds like only one is willing to defend the woman who brought them together.
Abby Lee Miller’s legacy on the reality show isn’t just about turning her students into stars Dancing mothersbut because he tortured her for it.
She was called every name in the book – bully, bully, bully – but despite all the controversy, one of her former students defended her Dance Moms: The Reunion particularly.
JoJo Siwa is apparently still Team Abby Lee Miller.
JoJo Siwa defends Abby Lee Miller’s behavior towards disgruntled co-stars
“This is going to be a little controversial to say, I think, but for me, Abby was always right,” JoJo admitted to a number of her former co-stars.
Reunited with the other girls for the first time, JoJo chats with Kalani Hilliker, Kendall Vertes, Chloé Lukasiak, Paige Hyland and Brooke Hyland Dance Moms: The Reunion particularly. When asked, she admits that the trials she endured under Abby’s guidance prepared her for the next chapter of her life.
“When I was upset and beaten up, she didn’t just yell at me because she wanted to yell at me. “I was actually completely confused and I was exhausted,” JoJo admits in the first look at the special via AND.
She maintains her argument that Abbey didn’t just want to be controlling or vengeful, but rather wanted to prepare the girls for the reality of being a professional dancer.
“One thing I’ve learned working in Hollywood that’s really crazy is that it’s normal,” Jojo adds. “And it’s scary that that’s normal, but that’s how I learned how to survive in the industry. It’s really so hard.”
Dance Moms star Don’t Forgive Abby Lee Miller
JoJo may turn out to be her teacher’s only defender, as the other girls have made it clear over the years that they find Abby’s methods abusive and traumatic.
For example, in October 2014, a lawsuit was filed on behalf of Paige Hyland, who was only 13 at the time. She claimed that she suffered emotional abuse during her time at the ALDC. She even went so far as to claim that Abbey “insulted and mistreated Paige on an almost daily basis, including cruel name-calling, insults about Paige’s physical appearance, and insulting, false and defamatory accusations.” [sic] about Paige’s family.” The lawsuit was dismissed in July 2015.
How Paige responds to JoJo’s defense remains to be seen, but it’s clear in the trailer that Paige hasn’t let go of her anger yet (and rightly so).
“It’s hard to say I forgive her when she did so many bad things to me.”
Maddie Ziegler Missing from “Dance Moms: The Reunion”
Noticeably absent from the special are sisters Kenzie and Maddie Ziegler. The latter has made it very clear that she despises Abbey and how painful it was for her to look back on her past.
“I was more stressed [on the show] when I did, when I left. I distanced myself so much from that time,” said Maddie Ziegler, who starred on the Lifetime reality TV show from 2011 to 2016 Cosmopolitan in June 2022. “It’s strange because there were really great times, but there were also a lot of things that were really, really not great for us kids.”
Maddie and JoJo Siwa were arguably the franchise’s biggest success stories. While JoJo showed some compassion for Abbey, she has less sympathy for the girls who skipped the reunion.
In fact, she called out the absent dancers directly: “If they’re not here, it’s like saying, ‘Let me erase my past, pretend it never happened, and put it down the drain.’ If so, then you are who you are,” she said.