Lifetime Cancels Abby Lee Miller’s ‘Dance Moms’ Spinoff After Racism Accusations
UPDATE:
Following accusations of racism from Adriana Smith against Abby Lee Miller, Lifetime will not be airing her Dance Moms spinoff, Abby’s Virtual Dance Off, with videos submitted by dancers around the country hoping to be named “The Abby Dancer.”
Furthermore, Miller will not be part of a potential ninth season of the original series, Entertainment Weekly reports.
Original Story:
Abby Lee Miller is issuing an apology after a star of Dance Moms Season 8 took to social media to accuse her of past racist comments.
Adriana Smith, the mother of young dancer Kamryn, noted Miller’s hypocritical behavior on Instagram, writing, “I couldn’t think of a more perfect day to address my experience with Abby Lee Miller. Wanna know the truth? Wanna know my TRUTH?”
“I’m sure most people will say ‘why did you go on the show?’ Auditioned and booked the show why wouldn’t we go?” Smith said, adding, “Call me naive, I thought with cancer and jail time maybe she had changed just a little bit. Well #season8 proved that was a complete lie.”
Along with the photos shared, Smith detailed various ways in which her daughter and herself were mistreated, reposting a copy of the Abby Lee Miller Dance Company’s own #BlackOutTuesday post with the words “Nope” and #DontActLikeYouCare” written across it.
“I recently posted on my FB that Racism is not something we can disagree on and still be friends, which in turn is why we are not friends,” Smith said. She then went on to explain examples of Miller’s behavior, claiming, “a statement from her that sticks in my mind to this day during my time on DMS8 is, ‘I know you grew up in the HOOD with only a box of 8 crayons, but I grew up in a Country Club with a box of 64 — don’t be stupid.'”
Smith then addressed Miller directly, writing, “Do you remember you told me ‘Do you want me to tell you why you are really here?’ lol as if I didn’t know.. again showing your superiority.
“You told me to ‘LOOK in the MIRROR! That’s the only reason you are here!,’ she continued, saying, “Kam told me she heard ‘they need a sprinkle of color.'” The message goes on to reveal the decision-making process behind her daughter’s exit from the Lifetime reality show.
In response, Abby Lee Miller has since released her own statement of apology via Twitter, saying, “I genuinely understand and deeply regret how my words have effected and hurt those around me in the past, particularly those in the Black community. To Kamryn, Adriana, and anyone else I’ve hurt, I am truly sorry.”
— Abby Lee Miller (@Abby_Lee_Miller) June 4, 2020
Since Miller’s post, Smith took to Instagram once more, saying, “At this time, I do not accept Abby’s apology because her apology was not sincere. My daughter and I have yet to hear directly from Abby Lee Miller. Moreover, she didn’t even bother to tag me or Kamryn in her post. How else would we know she apologized? My friends and peers informed me of the apology. How sincere could it be?! What happened to a phone call or at least a personal direct message?”
Dance Moms Season 8 aired last year, no news about future episodes has been made at this time.
