Does Abby Lee Miller Regret Her Dance Moms Behavior? Here's What She Said
Lifetime's "Dance Moms" saw some major scandals throughout its 8-season run, with infamous dance instructor Abby Lee Miller often at the forefront of the drama. Miller has earned a bad reputation for her treatment of the show's dancers, who ranged in age from six to 13 during Season 1. While the show was framed around the drama of the titular dance moms and Miller, each episode still saw the young performers berated and pitted against one another.
Some of the young dancers like Miller's favorite student Maddie Ziegler have reflected on their treatment as child stars since the program ended in 2019, but it seems Miller is finally ready to give her side of the story. In a teaser for an "IMPACT x Nightline" episode centering around "Dance Moms," the controversial dance teacher was asked if she would "take back" any of her "harsh" actions. However, her answer is unlikely to please former fans of the Lifetime reality show.
"Absolutely. Yes, I would," Miller answered. "Because no matter how harsh I was on the kid, they weren't gonna get it. They just didn't have the talent." The Pittsburgh native went on to add that she never wanted "to hurt anyone's feelings," but that her teaching was always intended to push her students "to be better and the best that they can be."
Abby Lee Miller has expressed regret, but not for what you'd think
Based on the teaser for Miller's episode of "IMPACT x Nightline," it appears the disgraced reality star may not be as remorseful as viewers might hope. Given the number of former "Dance Moms" stars who've cut ties with Abby Lee Miller, citing everything from the negative environment she fostered to Miller's history of racist remarks, you'd expect the reality star to have done some deeper reflection on how she treated her students.
While Miller appears to be unrepentant in the "IMPACT x Nightline" teaser, she has expressed some regret about her time on the Lifetime series. Just not in the way you'd expect. During Season 7 Episode 22 episode of the reality series, Abby admitted that she regretted everything about "Dance Moms," but not because of how she acted towards the young dancers and their families. The instance occurred when OG moms Holly Frazier, Kira Girard, and Jill Vertes told Miller that they planned to take their daughters out of the Abby Lee Dance Company for good.
Despite Miller's relationship with the show leading to a series of legal troubles and the dance instructor publicly expressing her unhappiness with Lifetime , that didn't stop the dance instructor from feeling betrayed by the original cast members parting ways with her. But mostly she was upset that she spent so much money. "Oh, I regret everything. I regret it," a tearful Miller said to the trio of moms. "I built a building. Two hundred, what? Ninety-eight thousand dollars that I built so your kids could have a place to dance."
Former Dance Moms stars have complicated relationships with Abby
While many of the former "Dance Moms" cast members want nothing to do with Abby Lee Miller, several of the former child stars have opened up about their complicated relationship with their old instructor. Surrounded by several of her fellow "Dance Moms" stars, Kalani Hilliker opened up about this nuanced dynamic in an interview with ET.
"Everybody's experience with her is very different," she said. "I know for me I would not be sitting in this chair, I would not have the career I have if it wasn't for Abby." Like some of her other dancing peers, Hiliker found it important to acknowledge what working with Miller eventually brought her, but she doesn't see that as the entire story. "Do I agree with everything she's done to me, my family, my friends? Absolutely not," she continued. "I've told her that before to her face like, 'I don't agree with half the things you've done.'"
While Hiliker has been able to "take the good from the bad," that's not exactly how every "Dance Moms" performer feels. Given that Miller hasn't shown any repentance for her cruel treatment of her young dance pupils, we can't say we blame the "Dance Moms" stars who want nothing to do with her.