Dance Moms introduced audiences to monster dance coach Abby Lee Miller. The Pittsburgh-based dance company only accepted the best and Miller would essentially torment these girls until they were “better” dancers. Remember the fear of being on the bottom of the pyramid?
While the reunion had Chloe Lukasiak, Kendall Vertes, Brooke and Paige Hyland, JoJo Siwa, and Kalani Hilliker all in attendance to talk about their time at the Abby Lee Miller Dance Company, there were notable absences like Maddie Ziegler and Nia Sioux. The reunion itself got into some tough topics, and the girls were honest and open about how they felt about Miller and their dance careers, but according to Siwa, the intentions of the producers were not always genuine.
On her podcast JoJo Siwa Now, the “Karma” singer said that producers continued to ask her to call Miller while they were filming. She also stated that Miller was not invited to the reunion and out of those in attendance, only Hilliker and herself still had relationships with Miller.
Siwa stated that she put her foot down and said no not only because Miller wasn’t invited and it was awkward, but because she’d put Lukasiak, Vertes, and the Hyland sisters in an uncomfortable place by doing so. “I was like, ‘I’m not only putting myself in an awkward position of calling in this environment, that no one invited her to, but also I’m putting Abby in a weird situation where she is talking to people who she doesn’t necessarily know how to talk to them.’”
She went on to explain that her relationship with Miller is her own but that doesn’t mean that the rest of the girls have the same dynamic with her. “I have a good relationship with Abby. I have chosen to see that Abby only ever wanted what was best for me and only ever was tough on me because she wanted what was best for me. So for me, I wanted to protect my relationship with Abby, and I wanted to protect my relationship with Brooke, Paige and Chloe.”
Siwa alleges the producers wanted more drama
The entire reunion was about how these young women healed from working with Miller, and yet, what Siwa is saying paints a different picture. She said that producers wanted more of her and Lukasiak’s back and forth over her mother, Christi Lukasiak, stating that Gianna Martello (who choreographed for Miller) was not a nice person in a video that went viral on TikTok. Siwa, at the time, posted her own video saying that Lukasiak was wrong.
“The producers wanted me and Chloé to kind of get into it a little bit and talk about our online beef, and honestly that’s not how I feel anymore,” Siwa said. She said that while she thought the reunion was healing for the dancers, she also “thought there was, honestly … a better way to do it.”
The reunion was surprisingly emotional to watch as these women were all growing and coming together to heal, and to hear that producers didn’t want that for it is upsetting. But these young women have already been through the ringer with Miller. They know how to handle themselves.
(featured image: Lifetime)
