"If it was so toxic, why did you keep doing it?" Toxic relationships are extremely hard to leave. Sometimes people do not realize how toxic a relationship is until they leave it.
The way her single rebuttal completely ignored the fact that high performance athletes (which dancers are) will frequently stay in toxic environments because they have been conditioned into believing it's what is necessary to succeed in a career with almost no pathways.
Right? The "why didn't you leave?" narrative does just that. It also ignores the fact she was a literal child surrounded by adults who had a vested interest in her staying. She had 0 power in that situation.
Exactly and they where children as well. They had pushy parents, not all of their parents but there where a lot who took advantage of their kids being on a reality show and making money and fame at a young age.
Abby might of not of said those exacted words If you don't win the trophy or a crown your less then but it boils down to it when you say second place is the first to lose. The kids will put it in their mind I have to win and get the prize because if I don't I'm less then.
@@user-zw2hn9eu1l Exactly but Abby just said the parents were under contracted so that's means the kids were too because the show is called dance moms without there daughters there weren't be a show she sounds so stupid. P.s Maddie ain't the first person who said the show was toxic. If I remember I believe Abby herself called the show toxic too.
That, and the moms were locked into contracts and although the kids’ contracts were not legally obligated to, they still had to comply, especially when Bryan Stinston actually threatened Melissa that he would own her kids.
Abby: “I’m a dance teacher. I’m not going to tell you who to not be friends with.” Also Abby: “And you know Chloe will never be happy for you.” “I’m the only one who cares about you.” “Nobody wants to see you succeed.” “Nobody’s happy for you, everyone’s jealous of you.”
“If it was so toxic, why did you stay?” Sounds like the typical response to those who have been in abusive situations/ relationships. “Why didn’t you just leave??” 🙄 narcissist
Chloe left because she was actually being poorly mistreated! As to Maddie..had the best treatment frm Abby.. She is just a bitter brat after all these years..
@@veecee8842 “Best treatment” doesn’t mean “good treatment.” You can tell how old someone is based on whether they understand emotional psychology. You’re clearly a child. Grow up and come back.
@@veecee8842 Abby was emotionally manipulative to Maddy and it is blatantly obvious to anyone with a brain that Maddie and Abby's relationship was toxic. You Abby stans should do some research before running your mouths.
This is so manipulative and she knows it is. This is always the line from long term abusers "if it was so bad then why didn't you leave". Like please we saw you emotionally abuse this child on TV. We saw you alienate her from her friends, we saw you tell her that her own mother didn't want her to succeed, we saw you bring up her very volatile personal life (her parents divorce) as a "gotcha" moment, we saw you punish her because she obeyed her mother versus doing what YOU wanted, We even saw you try to sow seeds of distrust between her and her sister and these are just the things you did ON camera
It is also insane that she is going to claim that Maddie was wrong when she said Abby trained them with the mentality that if you didn't win you were less than, because we saw her do it on television. We saw her literally treat the other girls as second class individuals and excuse it as oh they don't win so it is fine. We also saw how she lit into Maddie when her sister beat her so clearly it had NOTHING to do with the company winning
@@user-vz7ke7ok9b considering their little first place wins were set up with their fake competitions. The little scripted line of coming in first is just that scripted. Considering they didn't get first place when they competed at real competitions
@Mark Warner you're going to just be preaching to the choir as far as the Maddie fans are concerned whatever was on television and whatever she says is the truth.
@@mimiray7836 first place were few and far in between. I mean my favorite lie of hers was at The Dance awards where she took a picture with the first place trophy that belong to Tate McRae
Everyone who watched the show knows it was toxic... When it comes to Maddy, I'm surprised because she was the one who was treated the best and her family was privileged compared to the other kids
It wasn’t all great, whenever Melissa and Abby fought maddie got treated just like the other kids did. And maddie had to watch her friends and her sister and her mom get treated horribly as such a young kid.
Her family wasn't privileged, her sister had to put up with more toxicity because of the constant comparison that she lacked confidence for a while. Maddie was poisoned against her friends, that caused the girls to not trust each other, which led to situations where when Maddie was upset she often had to deal with it alone, whereas her friends at least got some comfort from the others
Maddie wasn’t privileged at all! Sure, she got some better choreography and wasn’t as verbally attacked, but that was replaced by emotional manipulation, isolation, and a clear lack of childhood. At least the other girls got some normalcy and had friends and events outside of dance while Maddie was pressured to be at the studio 24/7 because Abby would get mad at her if she “didn’t take every opportunity.” She was also always told that her friends didn’t care about her and her relationship with her sister was ruined thanks to Abby!! I think people also forget how mean Abby was to Maddie when Sophia was around and that she bodyshamed her in Season 6 and insulted her teeth and acting.
It's called being a child & an abused child at that. I felt bad for those girls bc of Abby treating them like trash. It's the way Abby went about teaching she is toxic. There are other teaching techniques that work better for the children than yelling at them & putting them against each other & just the way Abby was on that show was child abuse. I would watch it thinking she should've in jail for the abuse she put innocent children through. Mental abuse is some of the worst abuse bc you dont see it as a bruise on the child it stays with that child throughout their life & creeps up on them & sometimes the child grows up to abuse others & the cycle continues.
All of their mothers willingly signed up for this exact treatment in hopes of it transforming or leading their daughters to the careers & places they went because of the name Abby Lee Miller. They were all also present and watching the whole time during all of the so called abuse.
@@ashleyvalentine2790 Yes she was, she put in their contract they weren't allowed to lose or gain more than 10 pounds and was emotionally manipulative. You abby stans are just as bad as her.
Didn't abby said HERSELF on an Interview that she said wathever she wanted to chloe and Christi because she FRICKING KNEW that they couldn't leave because of the contract?
Yes yes yes, and if you remember that episode where she told Chloe that she wasn’t being mean to her, and that she was a beautiful dancer (Chloe looked super upset and was almost crying) I can’t remember what episode but it was either season 1 or season 2…..Abby actually told Chloe that she would destroy her and her family, but the producers edited that part out…..she also never wanted Chloe to win, has stated that before and if you remember that episode where Chloe beat Maddie and got 1st place but then Abby convinced the judge that the score was wrong, and Maddie was the winner and Chloe had to give her crown to Maddie in the dressing room…..Abby couldn’t stand to see Chloe win and be happy, and she couldn’t stand it when Maddie would lose, yet if the other girls on….Abby was happy, which makes me think that she had it out, and had vengeance for and against Chloe. She called Chloe a sneak or a snake in one episode to which Chloe ran out of the room balling her eyes out. According to both Chloe and Christi, even before the show started, and after it started…..they wouldn’t see Abby for a couple minutes throughout the week….like she refused to even see them. Whenever Chloe had even a little bit of confidence in her, Abby thought it was all getting to her head, and had to tear her down a bit more, so that Chloe would remain humble even though Chloe has always been humble. Then of course, Chloe and Christi’s last episodes on the show in Season 4 during the season finale when Abby apparently called Chloe washed up…..she didn’t say it, she actually made a comment about Chloe’s lazy eye, which not only did the producers edit out to not make Abby seem so bad, but Chloe needed surgery for it a few years later and made a video about it….it was called silent sinus syndrome. Also….Abby stated that she also didn’t like Chloe’s dad Marc….and questioned Christi’s parenting of Chloe when…..who is Abby to judge and question Christi’s parenting, when Abby herself had no kids then, and still has no kids? She didn’t like the way Chloe was being raised at home, yet Chloe is such a positive and happy person who loves her family.
Abby was a bully all 8 seasons, minus the jail time, and like a typical abuser is blaming the kids for not leaving the toxic environment. She pitted the girls against each other and sat back and watched the fighting she caused. People like this are really getting called out lately (Amber Heard) and are not getting away with their narcissistic games anymore...
This was ABSOLUTELY a toxic environment for these girls. Consider the very FIRST episode we see of this show, it shows Maddie crying and clearly scared and distressed, with a stomach ache, saying she feels sick and wants to leave and her Mom absolutely REFUSES to let her 8 yr old daughter skip dance class and go home to rest because "she NEVER misses dance", and she forced Maddie to keep dancing. Not to mention on the rare times Maddie forgot her dance or messed up in her dance (i.e. when she fell in the Spanish dance) or did not win with her dance, she was having a panic attack and looked absolutely petrified, thinking her dance teacher would hate her and be mad at her for it and not give her any more special dances, I would say this is ALSO toxic. And Maddie was not the only girl who had panic attacks and broke down during the show's 8 season run. Paige...Lily....Kendall....a lot of girls suffered from stress and panic attacks on this show. And we CLEARLY saw it. Not to mention the Moms screaming and fighting in front of these kids and Abby insulting the kids (especially Nia, Paige and Chloe) I find it absolutely heartbreaking that Maddie was so scared of Abby hating her or rejecting her that she would literally have panic attacks....over something that is meant to be FUN. Abby and Melissa put WAY to much pressure on Maddie to win and be perfect in dancing. She was always the one who was the lead, the one who had the special solo, the one who was favored in any special things (like the talent agent who came to the dance concert looked at Maddie. Sia wanted to work with Maddie....even to the point of neglecting Melissa's other daughter, Mackenzie, and Abby and Melissa being mad when Mackenzie beat her sister because they favored Maddie so much. And didn't Abby ALWAYS tell the girls "second is the FIRST TO LOSE?" Didn't she always rake them over the coals when they lost? How is THAT not toxic?
You know the irony? They put so much pressure on her yet couldn't even dance themselves. I can't remember where but I saw a clip of a young Abby dancing and she was rubbish yet had the audacity to expect kids to do what she couldn't and never did.
@@MotherofWeePigs Abby is just insecure and manipulative. One of the girls said that they would compare their weights to potato sacks, and a whole bunch of other disgusting stuff would occur.
@@skontheroad don’t even. The people on Dance moms have already come out and said the show was heavily EDITED. And you can’t edit that kind of behavior. Holly and Christi rarely came off as rude even though they on the show for YEARS. Don’t blame everything on “It’s just a reality TV show!”, not everything was scripted.
@@sarahalviz979 I agree. I hate when people use the whole “it’s scripted” trope as a cop out. The show wasn’t 100% authentic but NONE of those girls and their mothers were handed scripts to rehearse. The tears shed on that show were very real. Abby is a despicable woman. Paige sued Abby because of the trauma she put her through. She wouldn’t have done that if it was scripted. Plus many of the cast said that worse things happened or were said that never aired. Abby made a cold remark about Chloe’s medical condition but the producers edited it to cover up what she said. People need to wake up and realize that what goes on reality TV isn’t always staged, they really need to get their heads out of their behinds when there are CHILDREN involved. Also this narrow thinking has caused many lawsuits involving this stuff to be dismissed. Former cast members who sued Abby lost because the courts assumed the incidents were scripted or staged, just because it was on TV. 🤦🏾♀️ To all you skeptics out there, watch MackZBoss’s channel here on YT, she does a series called Dance Moms Uncovered, it’s an eye opener.
Abby has absolutely no ability to take accountability for anything...I've never understood why people still support her after seeing how she treated those kids and others. She was abusive but somehow people still rally around her.
@@dancingdani25 a whooole lot of people. Go to her UA-cam channel and look at the comments. So many people cheering her on while she makes shady comments about the girls she used to train. It’s weird
@@atouchofyaz4876 that's so messed up. I didn't think there could possibly be anyone supporting that woman. I guess there are many other people in the world just like her...
"If he was so abusive why didn't you leave earlier?" Same energy. Disgusting. I knew it was only a matter of time before this monster turned on her "favorite". This woman should be ashamed of herself.
@@EsaCrisbel she never will. Textbook narcissist, abuser, etc. Hate how much that's thrown around these days SO loosely for every little thing, but this is that. They never see it. They live in a different reality than everyone else. As horrible as it sounds, I was hoping Abby had a huge wake up call and time to reflect while she went through cancer. Not that she deserved it, but after a while I thought you know, if that were me and I had spent my whole life acting a certain way I'd really make a change and turn over a new life getting a new lease on life. Wishful thinking I suppose. Because clearly she hasn't lol
it’s crazy how i used to agree with her as well. after watching her video, i can actually see why maddie doesn’t talk to her. and maddie didn’t trash her in the interview either??? and abby has said in multiple interviews that dance moms was toxic, does it not occur to her that if it was toxic for HER, it was also toxic for everyone involved.
The show was incredibly toxic, the girls had really struggled with anxiety towards the end of the show. Maddie was stressed about a dance competition when she was 11, she shouldn't be stressing about anything. Abby had too much of high standards for Maddie and was envious of her when she was 13.
Fr and she’s like “the kids didn’t have a contract the moms did” so she expected those moms to come the studio to film without their kids?? That’s just ridiculous.
The kids could stop at any time. The moms had contract, yes, but if the kid leaves the group, the mom is no longer needed for filming. That’s why there were so many kids coming and going all the time. Abby is right about the contract thing. She’s the only one that really had no choice but to be there.
@@Jiorgiapeach the main cast clearly had different contracts than guest stars, Abby has said more than once that she knew they couldn't leave and that is why she treated some kids worst than usual (Chloe Lukasiak)
The entire show was set up to be exactly what it was "toxic" and I believe every person knew that involved. What's disgusting to me is the parent's of the dancer's all allowed and obviously supported this type of environment for their children by playing a part in it. Shame on these parent's...they lack integrity, morals and values.
Abby you’re the one that always said second place is last place. Can you imagine how much a kid pushed themselves for such a high placement and then you go off telling them that?
My cousins Danced for Abby, she's definitely a strict teacher but these girls wouldn't be where they are today without her. Say what you will but Maddie & her family reaped the most benefits from Abby. Abby made mistakes, but I believe that the Ziglers were very much involved
@@javierleonides9074 that can be said about any sport!! My kids played hockey, very competitive sport. You don't pay attention to negativity & it's our job as their parent to encourage them.
Why Abby has a right to respond to something that was said about her? Maddie's lucky that Abby is so nice because if I were Abby I would have slap Maddie with a cease and desist.
@@dancer4life273 Abby has been trash talking Maddie and her mother for years now. What illegal activity did Maddie do that Abby can slap her with a cease and desist? If Abby could have taken legal action, she would have. Maddie has done nothing different than what Abby has been doing on her UA-cam channel.
It is jealousy but Maddie is ungrateful because Abby made everything about her and Maddie loved it, Abby is the reason Maddie got all the opportunities she had, and now Maddie is the one who is always complaining, the other girls have moved on and are successful in what they have chosen to do, even though they were treated horribly by Abby you don't hear them complain about her anymore, maybe Maddie is finally realizing that her talent is limited and the only reason she got the jobs she did was because of all the lying, cheating and underhand things Abby and Melissa did.
@@TJBeanz-de1db I don't like Abby but she put her all into Maddie, she lied and cheated to get Maddie opportunities she didn't earn or deserve, and now Maddie is acting like she was some kind of victim that's total BS, as far as Melissa there is no doubt that she helped Abby hide the money and then turned on her so she wouldn't go to prison. Maddie and Melissa are both users
I love the part where abby tries to claim that she didn't creat an environment where they felt like they weren't good if they didn't win... despite the fact she would rank them all on a pyramid every week and if you didn't win or place high you were put down the bottom. Or when she would routinely tell them that second place was just the first to lose 🤷
@@taylorharvey6091 the OGs and their moms got what they wanted out of the show and being on TV. They got to walk red carpet events , go to Hollywood parties that they wouldn't have gotten in, and the mother's could live vicariously through their daughters.
This woman is still riding Maddie's coattails. SAD. Just let Maddie be, you caused her a lot of psychological harm, own up to that, maybe it would help Abby.
Oh give me a break. Those moms kept their kids in that studio for one selfish reason..MONEY. Maddie's mom apparently had a reputation for adultery and being a gold digger. Christy let that cat outta the bag during an episode. The Ziegler's knew what they were doing.
@@waterflows21 You know that’s all fake, right? Melissa and Kurt divorced because Kurt was neglecting the children. It’s shameful that people believe a tv show over the family themself!
@@oliviarush3289 Is she a narc or a psychopath? I know this is armchair judging lol but it really wouldn't surprise me..especially as she hasn't learned a thing. Lack empathy in a massive scale.
For me, I wouldn't want an out of shape instructor teaching my child anything physical. If you're not able to do any of the moves you expect the kids to do, get outta here! I don't care if she was once the best dancer in the world, her weight has made her unhappy and that trickles down to those she teaches. Kids are taught to be bullies, they aren't born that way and what that woman did was straight bullying! Any parent that allows their child to go through that physical and mental abuse is just at fault as the abuser a.k.a Abby
She was also really insecure about her weight because she would CONSTANTLY call the girls fat and body shame them. Which is horrible because 1. They are really young they shouldn’t go through that, and they don’t know how to handle that kind of situation yet. 2. They aren’t even fat and she’s making them self-conscious about their body because she’s insecure about hers.
"maddie wanted to win, she wanted to be the best, she was a perfectionist" maybe because you put so much pressure on her to win and taught her that she needs to win to have any value?
There are multiple clips of Abby telling the kids that 2nd place is "First to lose." She repeatedly bashed the students if they didn't come in 1st, and then put them at the bottom of the pyramid. Abby's lost track of the fact that many things that Maddie mentions are on video clips of the show. Abby's said some hateful things that were caught on video. Now she's being called out for being a toxic teacher by her former students? Good for them - they've grown up and they're not kids anymore. Notice that Abby never addressed the fact that she went to jail for fraud.
Pyramid was set up for the show that was not something that was done at Abby's studio. The common about second place is a scripted line from a reality TV show . Bankruptcy fraud let's see who worked at the front desk at her studio and should have been making payments oh I believe that was Melissa. Abby said it herself many times she had to learn who to trust and trusted the wrong person
A 50 year old something woman is asking someone to be thankful for something she had received from her when she was 8 and had absolutely no control over whether she wanted it or not...
Let’s be real, if Maddie had told Abby that she didn’t wanna dance anymore, she would’ve went ballistic. Abby treated Maddie like the kid she never had simply because Melissa was the only mother who would allow her to treat her daughter as such. Abby would dress her, take her out on competition in which her mother couldn’t go too, had her spend the night at her own private home often so, I don’t believe it would’ve been that easy if Maddie truly wanted to quit dance. Maddie even reiterated several times during Dance Moms that she never wanted to let Ms.Abby down and she was a pleaser when it came to Abby.
I remember vividly when Maddie forgot her solo and had the panic attack. I think it was the following week Abby had put her down to perform and Maddie asked if she could take a break because her confidence was clearly shot. Abby literally punished her for the next couple of weeks stating that when she got the opportunity to dance she said no. Abby Lee Miller may have selective memory but we do not. Nothing about her behaviour created an environment were a person would want to stay forever
Melissa signed guardianship over to Abby for her girls so if Abby was that bad why would she do such a thing? If you had kids would you leave them with somebody that you thought was toxic
@@missymani Maddie chose to alienate her friends but y'all don't seem to have a problem with that... Also Maddie & the girls couldn't do the show without their mothers physically being in the studio. There is no way Maddie could've come in against her moms wishes
I think of course she is at fault for how she treated them. However I also partially blame the parents. If your child is being abused emotionally or otherwise, you are supposed to protect them. There needs to be more protection for the children.
I agree those moms were the worst they all got paid very well. At the end of the day those MOMS got a lot of nerve saying toxic environment all they did was talk about there kid being on top. That Jill danced with Abby when she was a kid she knew how Abby was and yet she put her 2 girls in Abby’s dance school. I’m watching this show now and the moms were so crazy too!!!! I was a gymnast and my coach yell the whole entire practice lol I don’t feel sorry for those and there Moms.
To be fair Kelly did just that in the end. Apparently she wanted out of her contract from season 1 and it took her giving Abby a smack to the face to get her out of it.
Abby herself said Christi and Chloe weren’t allowed to leave. Melissa tried to get Maddie and Kenzie out early. Kelly literally went to COURT to free Brooke and Paige. There WAS a contract (Abby’s lying about that), they were ALL stuck, and Dance Moms was never supposed to be a full TV show. It was pitched as a six-episode miniseries and the premise was changed only AFTER it was too late to back out.
*WoooW, hold up! Abbie 100% did scold Maddie for associating with a rival!* A couple of years ago I got really really sick and binge watched some "Dance Mom's" episodes (which I immediately stopped doing when I got better)..but I recall that Maddie had held hands with a boy backstage, I think from CandyApple, and Abbie jumped all over Maddie saying she wasn't allowed to fraternize with the enemy..so Abbie 100% jumped all over Maddie for that..it's on one of the episode's 🤦
How can she say “I’m a dance teacher, I don’t tell you who to be friends with” when she threw a fit over the moms still being friends with Kelly? I know she was a mom and not a rival but still it’s kinda hypocritical
in the latest season Abby literally kicked out a girl because her mom got flowers from a rival studio. she was no longer allowed to be with the rest of the girls or compete.
The show was toxic. And to simply excuse the behavior saying: “if it was so toxic why didn’t you leave?” Is the same as diminishing a person’s pain in an abusive relationship. It’s difficult to leave and sometimes you don’t even realize the dynamic is toxic until later on. Not to mention just because you’re the favorite doesn’t mean she was exempt from all of it. She was under constant pressure, manipulated, consistently told that dance was to be above friends or family, and it was shoved in her face when she tried to make the right decisions as a CHILD. And despite all this she was still very respectful in her interview. She gave credit to dance moms even stating that she felt sickly guilty at first for leaving but eventually having to come to peace with it.
Abby is so tone deaf to even make that statement!! The thing is Maddy did leave eventually for the very same reasons. It is hard to walk away from something you've been doing your whole life and I'm sure as she got got older and understood she could leave and it would be okay. She made the most out of the opportunities she was givien and thrived. If Abby cannot take accountability for the abuse she inflicted on those little kids she is a lost cause. Your name has already been tarnished sis, and you did that for yourself on television regardless of what the producers had you do.
I see Abby is still a narcissist and only cares about her name. If she ever cared about Maddie I would think she would say something like I'm sorry that I made you feel that way. I didn't realize what I did was harmful to you. I would never want to hurt you. And she could be supportive. Everyone makes mistakes and you grow and learn better. Not Abby. She will defend her actions till her last breathe bc she is alway right in her mind. Reguardless, if she feels she did anything wrong its about how she made Maddie feel. How she feels is valid. She has a right to feel however she wants about her childhood.
What exactly does Abby have to feel sorry for? Maybe that she allowed them to film at her dance studio. Abby didn't force them to sign up for the show in fact Abby wasn't even part of the equation for the show. The only reason she got roped into it is when the producers hurt her with her teen group which was a group that was hers she didn't work with Maddie and the girls that was done for the show
@@dancer4life273 I gave up on that show after a while but she was working with Maddie all ths time in the beginning. She was verbally abusive to say the least but it doesn't matter what I think. Its about how Maddie feels and if Abby cared about her she would apologize to her for making her feel that way even if she didn't think she did anything wrong. Its not like Maddie is filing a lawsuit against her. It did seem like a toxic environment for the kids. I know I thought that kind of stuff was normal when I was a kid bc all the adults just accepted it. I didn't know any better. So to answer your question I'd say she should feel sorry for hurting Maddie.
i used to agree with abby because i haven’t watched dance moms in a LONG time, and now I can’t even get past halfway of season 4. And the opening “if it was toxic, then why keep on doing it”??? She does realize 10 y/o s can’t recognize certain toxic environments??? And that’s how child abuse works??? This woman has racism allegations that she never apologized for, let’s focus on that.
Abby is Abby. She never pretended to be anyone else. I place the majority of the blame on the moms of the girls. They knew what she was like and how it affected their daughters, but they stayed. They cared more about the money and the exposure than their daughters’ mental well-being. Kudos to Kelly for walking away when she saw how miserable Abby made her daughters.
I only watched this show one time and I was appalled at the toxic environment and the fact that the stage mothers were allowing their children to be abused. I felt the mothers were complicit in the abuse. It was shameful.
When she said if it was toxic why didn’t you leave that bothered me. Toxic relationships are hard and it was a pay check for them. The moms didn’t work so they prolly stayed for that too.
What's hilarious is Abby was a guest on a podcast a few years ago and said herself that production and the show in general was very toxic. So why in the hell does Abby 6yrs later get to control Maddies experience or feelings on how it felt to be manipulated and used. Abby will say and do anything to absolve herself of guilt for the sick games she played with those girls and the Mothers and also how much karma repaid her for all her shady behavior and terrible emotional abuse. How so many adored this low vibrational soul is beyond me!
@@sarahalviz979 fake competitions and reactions to winning 1st place scripted. They needed to work on their acting skills so they are least looked surprised. Mothers swearing and acting like idiots (- real life unscripted) or as they put it heavily edited. One will never know unless the producers discuss what truly happened on that show. There are so many different versions of what took place on and off camera it's hard to keep them straight. The one thing that has been consistent is the Long contract, but no one has said why did they force their kids to continue when ALDC was a toxic place.
For some reason I see my old and toxic boss asking me this. I had NO way to quit because I would not get unemployment compensation if I up and quit, I needed to stay at the job to continue making a living and I was trying to get another job lined up but at the time, no one was hiring until I finally passed the CBEST and became a substitute in a rural school district and am now on my way to becoming a math teacher and I am the happiest I’ve ever been. It’s been three years since I’ve left that job for subbing and I LOVE IT and realize that teaching is my calling NOT office work let alone working for the state (EDD) which is what I started off with and yes my boss is as toxic as Abby Lee Miller. If the moms are on contract, what choice did the dance girls have? Yes Maddy and the other dancers were NOT on contract but the moms were. So again, what choice did she truly have? If she quit, and not be on the show, what about her mom who is under contract? I don’t get it? It’s not Maddy’s fault. So don’t pin this on her Abby! What I don’t understand is why you (as an adult) are blaming a little girl? No one is siding with you Abby. You’re on your own. You may have gotten away with your unprofessional and highly disrespectful behavior in the past during the show, but now, you are facing the consequences of your actions and hostile impact.
Abby would not allow Maddie to look at Chloe during certain competitions because she didn’t wanna psych her out because she knew Chloe looked good. Terrible teaching habits
She also told her that Chloe would never be happy for her, and that she was jealous of her. Chloe, the girl that was the first to cheer for Maddie when they announced her as first every time, the same girl that gave her own first place trophy with a smile when they announced the scoring "errors", yeah, she was clearly jealous of Maddie.
This woman is incredibly narcissistic and it’s hard to watch her attempt to completely wash her hands of any responsibilities when it comes to her hand in publicly humiliating and mentally traumatizing these girls.
She was a freakin child!!!! Jeez they realized how toxic it was after they matured and you should feel bad for taking a child, who doesn't even realize how toxic it was, and treating her in such a toxic environment!
A. She was a child and likely didn’t realize how damaging it was B. She was a child and didn’t want to ruin her chances of a career C. She loved dance, and respected Abbie.
No one knows what this child went through being threatened to be the best. Maddie is a beautiful dancer but it was because SHE strives to be the best and it was a GIFT! Abby was a season in her life that was bitter sweet but she still had to go through so much as a young child. Abby seemed obsessed with this girl and Melissa saw that. I could only imagine the peace in these girls minds when they left that show and network
"The kids didn't have a contract, but the moms did" ...HELLO, the show was centered around the kids dancing. If the mothers were bound by a contract, the kids were essentially bound by those contracts as well.
Dance moms was definitely a toxic environment but, I blame the mother's. They encouraged and allowed their own children to be emotionally and verbally abused for a pretty penny. Shame on all of them! Also, Maddie should of kept her mouth closed in the first place. Why even go back to those day's and comment so negatively, move forward not backwards. It doesn't paint her in a good light in fact it show's the apple's never falls far from the tree.
Wanting to dance and being screamed at and bullied by Abby...as did all the other girls...Is totally different. 🤨 We all watched you Abby...Now you deny it. If my child was in your studio and YOU were the instructor she would have been yanked out the minute you screamed at her or any other child.
Between Abby & all of the Moms, it was a super toxic environment for those kids. I had anxiety just from watching. After awhile I couldn't even watch anymore. I felt so bad for those kids. The adults were insanely ridiculous.
her defense is that she didn’t have contract as if that makes it any better. like bruh that is the perfect set up for a child to be overworked and abused😭
When Abby talks about her former students she always talks about when they were younger. I think Abby was only looking at the first couple seasons where Maddie didn’t have much of a voice on the show. Where Maddie was mostly talking about season 4 and up. I think why Maddie said that Abby didn’t let her be friends with her rivals was probably because when there’s a competition, you can’t think of them as your friends and have to think of them as your competitors, and Abby probably said that to the kids. But I doubt Abby said they can’t be friends outside of competing.
bro she has this weird obsession with Maddie like u are a 50 year old women bullying a 19 year old girl like let them live their lives and keep their names out your mouth like move on with your life they sure have
“I truly thought maddie liked being on the show and dancing at my studio. I take responsibility for my toxic behavior that was shown on tv even if i do believe some of it was dramatized. I do apologize to maddie and everyone else for my behavior on that show. I have grown over the past years and I see how my actions were wrong” NOT THAT HAD ABBEY…
I encourage everyone to go watch Abby’s videos about what really happened behind the scenes on dance moms. She definitely has done a lot of wrong things, but so has everyone else. It’s good to gain perspective. Maddie may have been a child, but she would never be where she is now if not for that show, that studio, and the solos she got over all the other girls.
And none of that excuses how Abby manipulated and abused her. Yes Maddie was treated better but she was also manipulated and abused by Abby in a weird predatory way. Watching Abby’s videos does nothing bc as you can see she is a LIAR!!! She’s blatantly lying and always lies. You can’t trust a word she says.
That’s on the producers, not Abby. If you watch Abby’s videos you also know Abby doesn’t control who gets solos and who doesn’t. That’s all production. So if Maddie has to be thankful for anybody, it’s production. And Maddie has thanked Lifetime many times.
So that gives abby the okay to treat them like shit? There are so many successful Broadway dancers that were not treated the way she treated those girls. It can be done but this b**** doesn't care. She's a narcissist so she'll never be wrong in her mind
it's disgusting that you justify all the abuse that we literally saw just because she "did other good things" . that's what abusers do, they are also nice because that's how they buy loyalty. she doesn't own Maddie or any of the girls.
I watched the show and I wondered why the parents did not call cps or take their child to another studio. It seems Abby became the elephant in the room and the parents where her servants and the children should pledged their loyalty only to her at all times while at her dance 🩰 studio.
Maddie's mother Melissa signed her life away to Abby & Dance Moms so she really can't blame Abby! It's her mothers fault for letting it get so far..Melissa never listened to her daughters..& she put her interests first! She was going through a divorce in the begining of the show & would even send Maddie & Mackenzie to competitions alone with Abby! Meanwhile she was on vacations...
Eek...selfish Melissa. Apparently she would have let Maddie get on a plane with Harvey W until Sia stopped her. Who know what sort of grooming etc they were exposed to.
It was toxic, because Maddie felt that she always needed to be perfect to live up to that expectation, she ignored her health for it, she lost friends because of it, she would stress herself out if she didn't win. No child should feel that way.
The toxic environment doesn’t just refer to the Maddie/Abby relationship. Maddie grew up around screaming parents talking crap about her and her mother. Watching Abby’s relationship with the other moms would also be considered toxic. Don’t forget Abby’s lawsuit. Some of the charges against Abby were the fact she hid money in her instructors and students suit cases when she return from Australia. Abby was definitely a toxic person to be around, even for the favorite.
@Sara Moustamandi omg she was not sexually abused!!! STOP YOUR RUMORS, MADDIE & HER MOTHER REAPED ALL THE BENEFITS INCLUDING MONEY! Abby did her time & most of the show was staged for ratings
how is she going to say the moms had contracts and the kids didn't GIRL I'm pretty sure the moms and the kids are a package deal the show wouldn't be dance moms if it just had the moms and not the kids so if the moms are contractually obligated the kids got to be there to or else the show wouldn't make since wtf is she talking about so even if the kids "didn't have contracts" like she said if their moms have to come to set the kids have to come too and I remember one of the moms saying that if they tried to leave abbys studio there kids titles would be taken away or they had to pay an expensive bill for them to leave I'm pretty sure and ain't nobody got time for that that's probably why they staid for so long
I just feel that Melissa was all about the $$$. I don’t feel that Maddie ever had the choice to make on her own. She had her own strange relation with Maddie. Her reactions were off to her own kids.
Now that the original dance moms girls are all adults I want them to talk about the show more when they’re ready. In their own words. If the environment was so toxic why didn’t they leave? I think the show was super fake.
Exactly. If it was so toxic, why did they keep coming back? If it was so toxic, how come they are still reaping the rewards of fame and fortune from being on the show? Because they knew they would be rewarded with the fame and fortune. I dont see any of them struggling for jobs or money. I get that there was favoritism and yelling and arguments and stress, but you get that everywhere in life, especially when there isn't an entire TV station camera crew in the room watching every move. Try working at a mcdonalds as a 16 year old instead, I guarantee they wouldnt have been half as nice as Abby or treat you half as fairly. Why aren't they "silent treatment"ing and TV bashing their mothers for allowing Abby to yell at them all those years and never pulling them out of Abbys studio? These girls and their mothers are using Abby as the scapegoat for all the issues they've ever had with eachother.
First of all! I’m not gonna let people rip on Abby! The show was called Dance Moms ! All the moms Used Abby to get their kids famous. F**k a contract if a woman was abusive to my kid. We’d be done ! And it wouldn’t have taken me 12 years to do it. It was a mutual beneficial relationship. Abby was getting her studio famous and the moms were getting their kids famous . Thats the industry. The industry is toxic. Abby Lee is one lady. The very 1st episode Melissa said “ Abby is gonna make my kid a start ⭐️ And she did . Melissa was at Maddy’s moms death bed and treated her like her own mother and she took care of her dog. So I’m not buying this “ Abby was soooooo toxic bull !” No Maddie your mom saw you and your sister as a meal ticket and she was s opportunist!!!! And she used Abby, dance moms and you to get all the way to fame ! Now are you talented ? Of course all the girls are ! But you were Abby’s favorite and you had the most opportunities, cuss your mom was always in Abby’s face! And now you’ve made it you wanna forgot how and who got you there . FAKE !! That’s the problem with this industry! You are just as privileged and toxic and the rest of them! Unfortunately your mothers did this to you all when your were all children but your laughing all the way to the bank! But remember! Hollywood loved the young and talented, but you won’t always be this young , it will one day turn on you too, the way it did Abby . And by then Abby will be a old women in her rocking chair 🪑 and she gonna be like 👍 “ I told ya! “ Karma ! What goes around comes around … all of them ! Abby may not be perfect but she sacrificed a lot for people who weren’t even her kids ! All the fame , and money , and success… Abby, LEE , Miller
Did anyone outside of Pittsburgh even know about the ALDC before the show happened? Does anyone even care find the show ended. Looks to me like everyone still follows the girls, yet has forgotten about abby and the ALDC. Pretty sure maddie became globally known from the Sia vids, not lil old dance moms 😂
2:49, in answer to Abby, " You might not have overtly said that young dance competitors, without said reward is 'less than', but you could have done or said it covertly, which in my experience can be even more powerful and destructive"! These answers might be something some people today label, 'word salad' to avoid being frank and honest with the public and prior child dancers and family. Admittedly I don't envy Abby's situation and position and maybe she doesn't have to be on her own, so playing the victim & being hard done by has been her stance but sadly means this nightmare will never end, so nibbling on some humble pie might improve her current situation as it stands.
You Abby stans are ridiculous, anyone with a 🧠 could see how emotionally manipulative Abby was to Maddie. Abby is a narcissistic abuser, and she wonders why none of them visited her in hospital. You people are just as bad for defending CHILD ABUSE.
This is a no win situation for both.. Abby adored Maddy. Maddy was in an environment where yelling screaming name-calling , jealous adult's was the norm..her peers felt all types on the high & low ..it was her environment..
Not to mention how much Abby put pressure on her sister as well. I would not like that watching someone hurt my sister. Would definitely have me feeling some way all by itself. Coach or not. Oh yea and don't forget the producers.
If my child was in a toxic situation I would remove them from it. If the atmosphere at Dance Moms was so bad, the children should blame their parents for continuing to bring them to the studio, not the dance instructor. They were there by choice and could have gone to a different studio at any time. They wanted the fame they were garnering by working with Abby Lee. I don't blame Abby Lee. Her style was her style. The parents knew it going into the contracts they signed. I think it's sad to see how everyone has turned on the person who helped facilitate their current success, including the cover of Cosmo. #stayhumble and be genuinely appreciative. It's a better look on each of you. Glad you are better, Abby Lee! Hang in there.
I disagree with you. After reading all the production notes, watching the behind the scenes clips, and knowing a little more knowledge about the contract Abby had the parents under for her studio plus the contract with lifetime, and how people were treated by Abby and the producers on and off camera, you get the sense that all Abby did in this video was victim blame.
You people are instigators and really dramatic. Slammed??? Did you watch Abby's video??? She addressed what Maddie said. Toxicity is ruining your marriage to sign your children away to reality t.v. like Melissa. The stage moms were toxic, they wanted fame and fortune. Maddie always wanted to win, she always said it and Abby trained her to do so. She wouldn't be on the cover of anything if not for the show so she should chill out. As soon as Melissa sold Maddie to Sia, she no longer needed Abby. Maddie danced around like a little Sia puppet for years.... straight weirdo. People are mad at the dance teacher that parents would do anything for their children to be trained by??? That's moronic!!! Protect your children and don't sell them out to Hollyweird... not hard✔
Her and the tv producers created this environment. I’ve worked with as well as friends worked with Abby prior to the show and she was tough but nothing like what was depicted on the show. Money clearly blinder her and tv producers are known for creating drama and toxic environments
She just proved Maddie's point. Besides how tf is a minor able to choose where she can take dance?
F***** exactly
Exactly! Minors don't sign up..but their mothers do! She is blaming the wrong person..her mother should feel guilty
@@veecee8842 exactly, it’s the parents responsibility
@@neescott The moment Chloe decided she had enough her mother never took her back to that studio and i respect her so much for that!
@@veecee8842 that is so true!
"If it was so toxic, why did you keep doing it?" Toxic relationships are extremely hard to leave. Sometimes people do not realize how toxic a relationship is until they leave it.
exactly
Plus they had to sign a contract before starting the show
exactly! plus MADDIE WAS A CHILD especially in the earlier seasons she was only 8/9 years old
Also she didn't "keep doing it" she and Kenzie left :p
This phrase is just another manipulative justification from Abby
@@raniii652 she just said the kids didn’t have to
The way her single rebuttal completely ignored the fact that high performance athletes (which dancers are) will frequently stay in toxic environments because they have been conditioned into believing it's what is necessary to succeed in a career with almost no pathways.
Right? The "why didn't you leave?" narrative does just that. It also ignores the fact she was a literal child surrounded by adults who had a vested interest in her staying. She had 0 power in that situation.
Exactly and they where children as well. They had pushy parents, not all of their parents but there where a lot who took advantage of their kids being on a reality show and making money and fame at a young age.
Abby might of not of said those exacted words If you don't win the trophy or a crown your less then but it boils down to it when you say second place is the first to lose. The kids will put it in their mind I have to win and get the prize because if I don't I'm less then.
@@user-zw2hn9eu1l Exactly but Abby just said the parents were under contracted so that's means the kids were too because the show is called dance moms without there daughters there weren't be a show she sounds so stupid. P.s Maddie ain't the first person who said the show was toxic. If I remember I believe Abby herself called the show toxic too.
That, and the moms were locked into contracts and although the kids’ contracts were not legally obligated to, they still had to comply, especially when Bryan Stinston actually threatened Melissa that he would own her kids.
Abby: “I’m a dance teacher. I’m not going to tell you who to not be friends with.”
Also Abby: “And you know Chloe will never be happy for you.”
“I’m the only one who cares about you.”
“Nobody wants to see you succeed.”
“Nobody’s happy for you, everyone’s jealous of you.”
But they were jealous of her especially the mothers except holly and jojo mom
@@ariahyearwood9979 They weren’t jealous of maddie, the moms were upset at the way Maddie was treated in comparison to their kids
THANK YOU
those are literally grooming and brainwashing tactics. Abby is awful.
@@ariahyearwood9979 they weren’t. That’s the thing
“If it was so toxic, why did you stay?”
Sounds like the typical response to those who have been in abusive situations/ relationships. “Why didn’t you just leave??” 🙄 narcissist
Yep. Sounds like something an abusive narcissist says to their victim
Chloe left because she was actually being poorly mistreated! As to Maddie..had the best treatment frm Abby.. She is just a bitter brat after all these years..
Now i doubt you ever seen the show cause anyone with eyes could see that!
@@veecee8842 “Best treatment” doesn’t mean “good treatment.” You can tell how old someone is based on whether they understand emotional psychology. You’re clearly a child. Grow up and come back.
@@veecee8842 Abby was emotionally manipulative to Maddy and it is blatantly obvious to anyone with a brain that Maddie and Abby's relationship was toxic. You Abby stans should do some research before running your mouths.
This is so manipulative and she knows it is. This is always the line from long term abusers "if it was so bad then why didn't you leave". Like please we saw you emotionally abuse this child on TV. We saw you alienate her from her friends, we saw you tell her that her own mother didn't want her to succeed, we saw you bring up her very volatile personal life (her parents divorce) as a "gotcha" moment, we saw you punish her because she obeyed her mother versus doing what YOU wanted, We even saw you try to sow seeds of distrust between her and her sister and these are just the things you did ON camera
It is also insane that she is going to claim that Maddie was wrong when she said Abby trained them with the mentality that if you didn't win you were less than, because we saw her do it on television. We saw her literally treat the other girls as second class individuals and excuse it as oh they don't win so it is fine. We also saw how she lit into Maddie when her sister beat her so clearly it had NOTHING to do with the company winning
@@user-vz7ke7ok9b considering their little first place wins were set up with their fake competitions. The little scripted line of coming in first is just that scripted. Considering they didn't get first place when they competed at real competitions
@@dancer4life273 I can name several off show ones where Maddie did come first. Do you even do research before talking?
@Mark Warner you're going to just be preaching to the choir as far as the Maddie fans are concerned whatever was on television and whatever she says is the truth.
@@mimiray7836 first place were few and far in between. I mean my favorite lie of hers was at The Dance awards where she took a picture with the first place trophy that belong to Tate McRae
Everyone who watched the show knows it was toxic...
When it comes to Maddy, I'm surprised because she was the one who was treated the best and her family was privileged compared to the other kids
It wasn’t all great, whenever Melissa and Abby fought maddie got treated just like the other kids did. And maddie had to watch her friends and her sister and her mom get treated horribly as such a young kid.
Her family wasn't privileged, her sister had to put up with more toxicity because of the constant comparison that she lacked confidence for a while. Maddie was poisoned against her friends, that caused the girls to not trust each other, which led to situations where when Maddie was upset she often had to deal with it alone, whereas her friends at least got some comfort from the others
Behind the scenes
This lady looks and sounds harsh just listening to one min of her !!!! No thanks
Maddie wasn’t privileged at all! Sure, she got some better choreography and wasn’t as verbally attacked, but that was replaced by emotional manipulation, isolation, and a clear lack of childhood. At least the other girls got some normalcy and had friends and events outside of dance while Maddie was pressured to be at the studio 24/7 because Abby would get mad at her if she “didn’t take every opportunity.” She was also always told that her friends didn’t care about her and her relationship with her sister was ruined thanks to Abby!! I think people also forget how mean Abby was to Maddie when Sophia was around and that she bodyshamed her in Season 6 and insulted her teeth and acting.
It's called being a child & an abused child at that. I felt bad for those girls bc of Abby treating them like trash. It's the way Abby went about teaching she is toxic. There are other teaching techniques that work better for the children than yelling at them & putting them against each other & just the way Abby was on that show was child abuse. I would watch it thinking she should've in jail for the abuse she put innocent children through. Mental abuse is some of the worst abuse bc you dont see it as a bruise on the child it stays with that child throughout their life & creeps up on them & sometimes the child grows up to abuse others & the cycle continues.
All of their mothers willingly signed up for this exact treatment in hopes of it transforming or leading their daughters to the careers & places they went because of the name Abby Lee Miller. They were all also present and watching the whole time during all of the so called abuse.
No Abby was not toxic!! The parents were
@@ashleyvalentine2790 Yes she was, she put in their contract they weren't allowed to lose or gain more than 10 pounds and was emotionally manipulative. You abby stans are just as bad as her.
Maddie was never abused, the other girls were abused because of her
Maddie was never threatened
Didn't abby said HERSELF on an Interview that she said wathever she wanted to chloe and Christi because she FRICKING KNEW that they couldn't leave because of the contract?
Can't believe how cruel to a young child that is.
Yes yes yes, and if you remember that episode where she told Chloe that she wasn’t being mean to her, and that she was a beautiful dancer (Chloe looked super upset and was almost crying) I can’t remember what episode but it was either season 1 or season 2…..Abby actually told Chloe that she would destroy her and her family, but the producers edited that part out…..she also never wanted Chloe to win, has stated that before and if you remember that episode where Chloe beat Maddie and got 1st place but then Abby convinced the judge that the score was wrong, and Maddie was the winner and Chloe had to give her crown to Maddie in the dressing room…..Abby couldn’t stand to see Chloe win and be happy, and she couldn’t stand it when Maddie would lose, yet if the other girls on….Abby was happy, which makes me think that she had it out, and had vengeance for and against Chloe. She called Chloe a sneak or a snake in one episode to which Chloe ran out of the room balling her eyes out. According to both Chloe and Christi, even before the show started, and after it started…..they wouldn’t see Abby for a couple minutes throughout the week….like she refused to even see them. Whenever Chloe had even a little bit of confidence in her, Abby thought it was all getting to her head, and had to tear her down a bit more, so that Chloe would remain humble even though Chloe has always been humble. Then of course, Chloe and Christi’s last episodes on the show in Season 4 during the season finale when Abby apparently called Chloe washed up…..she didn’t say it, she actually made a comment about Chloe’s lazy eye, which not only did the producers edit out to not make Abby seem so bad, but Chloe needed surgery for it a few years later and made a video about it….it was called silent sinus syndrome. Also….Abby stated that she also didn’t like Chloe’s dad Marc….and questioned Christi’s parenting of Chloe when…..who is Abby to judge and question Christi’s parenting, when Abby herself had no kids then, and still has no kids? She didn’t like the way Chloe was being raised at home, yet Chloe is such a positive and happy person who loves her family.
Abby was a bully all 8 seasons, minus the jail time, and like a typical abuser is blaming the kids for not leaving the toxic environment. She pitted the girls against each other and sat back and watched the fighting she caused. People like this are really getting called out lately (Amber Heard) and are not getting away with their narcissistic games anymore...
This was ABSOLUTELY a toxic environment for these girls. Consider the very FIRST episode we see of this show, it shows Maddie crying and clearly scared and distressed, with a stomach ache, saying she feels sick and wants to leave and her Mom absolutely REFUSES to let her 8 yr old daughter skip dance class and go home to rest because "she NEVER misses dance", and she forced Maddie to keep dancing. Not to mention on the rare times Maddie forgot her dance or messed up in her dance (i.e. when she fell in the Spanish dance) or did not win with her dance, she was having a panic attack and looked absolutely petrified, thinking her dance teacher would hate her and be mad at her for it and not give her any more special dances, I would say this is ALSO toxic. And Maddie was not the only girl who had panic attacks and broke down during the show's 8 season run. Paige...Lily....Kendall....a lot of girls suffered from stress and panic attacks on this show. And we CLEARLY saw it. Not to mention the Moms screaming and fighting in front of these kids and Abby insulting the kids (especially Nia, Paige and Chloe) I find it absolutely heartbreaking that Maddie was so scared of Abby hating her or rejecting her that she would literally have panic attacks....over something that is meant to be FUN. Abby and Melissa put WAY to much pressure on Maddie to win and be perfect in dancing. She was always the one who was the lead, the one who had the special solo, the one who was favored in any special things (like the talent agent who came to the dance concert looked at Maddie. Sia wanted to work with Maddie....even to the point of neglecting Melissa's other daughter, Mackenzie, and Abby and Melissa being mad when Mackenzie beat her sister because they favored Maddie so much. And didn't Abby ALWAYS tell the girls "second is the FIRST TO LOSE?" Didn't she always rake them over the coals when they lost? How is THAT not toxic?
You know the irony? They put so much pressure on her yet couldn't even dance themselves. I can't remember where but I saw a clip of a young Abby dancing and she was rubbish yet had the audacity to expect kids to do what she couldn't and never did.
@@MotherofWeePigs Abby is just insecure and manipulative. One of the girls said that they would compare their weights to potato sacks, and a whole bunch of other disgusting stuff would occur.
How is it NOT toxic? Because "Reality TV" isn't REAL! It is entertainment.
@@skontheroad don’t even. The people on Dance moms have already come out and said the show was heavily EDITED. And you can’t edit that kind of behavior. Holly and Christi rarely came off as rude even though they on the show for YEARS. Don’t blame everything on “It’s just a reality TV show!”, not everything was scripted.
@@sarahalviz979 I agree. I hate when people use the whole “it’s scripted” trope as a cop out. The show wasn’t 100% authentic but NONE of those girls and their mothers were handed scripts to rehearse. The tears shed on that show were very real. Abby is a despicable woman. Paige sued Abby because of the trauma she put her through. She wouldn’t have done that if it was scripted. Plus many of the cast said that worse things happened or were said that never aired. Abby made a cold remark about Chloe’s medical condition but the producers edited it to cover up what she said. People need to wake up and realize that what goes on reality TV isn’t always staged, they really need to get their heads out of their behinds when there are CHILDREN involved. Also this narrow thinking has caused many lawsuits involving this stuff to be dismissed. Former cast members who sued Abby lost because the courts assumed the incidents were scripted or staged, just because it was on TV. 🤦🏾♀️ To all you skeptics out there, watch MackZBoss’s channel here on YT, she does a series called Dance Moms Uncovered, it’s an eye opener.
Abby has absolutely no ability to take accountability for anything...I've never understood why people still support her after seeing how she treated those kids and others. She was abusive but somehow people still rally around her.
Like who??
@@dancingdani25 like who what? …
@@atouchofyaz4876 I mean who still supports her?
@@dancingdani25 a whooole lot of people. Go to her UA-cam channel and look at the comments. So many people cheering her on while she makes shady comments about the girls she used to train. It’s weird
@@atouchofyaz4876 that's so messed up. I didn't think there could possibly be anyone supporting that woman. I guess there are many other people in the world just like her...
"If he was so abusive why didn't you leave earlier?"
Same energy. Disgusting. I knew it was only a matter of time before this monster turned on her "favorite". This woman should be ashamed of herself.
EXACTLY she doesn’t even see it. Omg
@@EsaCrisbel she never will. Textbook narcissist, abuser, etc. Hate how much that's thrown around these days SO loosely for every little thing, but this is that. They never see it. They live in a different reality than everyone else.
As horrible as it sounds, I was hoping Abby had a huge wake up call and time to reflect while she went through cancer. Not that she deserved it, but after a while I thought you know, if that were me and I had spent my whole life acting a certain way I'd really make a change and turn over a new life getting a new lease on life. Wishful thinking I suppose. Because clearly she hasn't lol
it’s crazy how i used to agree with her as well. after watching her video, i can actually see why maddie doesn’t talk to her.
and maddie didn’t trash her in the interview either??? and abby has said in multiple interviews that dance moms was toxic, does it not occur to her that if it was toxic for HER, it was also toxic for everyone involved.
@@gonegonegirl yeah for sure. Just to be clear though, I've never agreed with Abby. Ever.
@@crazy_haze oh ik. i didn’t mean it like that. i meant im embarrassed that i agreed with her until i started rewatching dance moms 😭
The show was incredibly toxic, the girls had really struggled with anxiety towards the end of the show. Maddie was stressed about a dance competition when she was 11, she shouldn't be stressing about anything. Abby had too much of high standards for Maddie and was envious of her when she was 13.
Abby knows as well as everyone else that you couldn’t just leave the show….
Fr and she’s like “the kids didn’t have a contract the moms did” so she expected those moms to come the studio to film without their kids?? That’s just ridiculous.
The kids could stop at any time. The moms had contract, yes, but if the kid leaves the group, the mom is no longer needed for filming. That’s why there were so many kids coming and going all the time. Abby is right about the contract thing. She’s the only one that really had no choice but to be there.
@@Jiorgiapeach the kids who came and went didn’t have the same contracts as the originals. Abby is not right about the contracts. They couldn’t leave.
@@Jiorgiapeach the main cast clearly had different contracts than guest stars, Abby has said more than once that she knew they couldn't leave and that is why she treated some kids worst than usual (Chloe Lukasiak)
@@aquapalm87 ask yourself this question why did the mother sign such a long contract?
Abby, you already said since everyone was forced into the contract you were extra mean because you could get away with it.
Exactly Abby said that and yet she's going to acted like nothing ever happened.
How exactly were they forced into the contracts?
The entire show was set up to be exactly what it was "toxic" and I believe every person knew that involved. What's disgusting to me is the parent's of the dancer's all allowed and obviously supported this type of environment for their children by playing a part in it. Shame on these parent's...they lack integrity, morals and values.
@@dancer4life273 They signed a six season contract so they weren't allowed to leave until their contract was up.
She was talking about Chloe, she never treated Maddie bad
Abby you’re the one that always said second place is last place. Can you imagine how much a kid pushed themselves for such a high placement and then you go off telling them that?
My cousins Danced for Abby, she's definitely a strict teacher but these girls wouldn't be where they are today without her. Say what you will but Maddie & her family reaped the most benefits from Abby. Abby made mistakes, but I believe that the Ziglers were very much involved
@@mthiel115 so you would let your daughter be in Maddie’s shadow and have Abby be strict to your daughter as well??
@@javierleonides9074 my daughter would never be in anyone's shadow, and yes I would be honored for my child to learn from the ALDC.
@@mthiel115 hahahaha you sound just like the moms. If Maddie was next to your daughter Abby would’ve definitely treated her the same
@@javierleonides9074 that can be said about any sport!! My kids played hockey, very competitive sport. You don't pay attention to negativity & it's our job as their parent to encourage them.
okay but i specifically remember abby telling maddie that the other girls on the team are not her friends 😭
So did her mother but it wasn't filmed for the show.
She did 😭😭😭
Exactly!!
“Chloe would NEVER be happy for you! They’re all JEALOUS! Your team is DRAGGING YOU DOWN!!”
This chick’s a liar. Plain and simple.
Gaslighting. We watched the show. It was toxic.
It’s sad how jealous Abby is of that kid.
You're sad
Why Abby has a right to respond to something that was said about her? Maddie's lucky that Abby is so nice because if I were Abby I would have slap Maddie with a cease and desist.
@@dancer4life273 Abby has been trash talking Maddie and her mother for years now. What illegal activity did Maddie do that Abby can slap her with a cease and desist? If Abby could have taken legal action, she would have. Maddie has done nothing different than what Abby has been doing on her UA-cam channel.
It is jealousy but Maddie is ungrateful because Abby made everything about her and Maddie loved it, Abby is the reason Maddie got all the opportunities she had, and now Maddie is the one who is always complaining, the other girls have moved on and are successful in what they have chosen to do, even though they were treated horribly by Abby you don't hear them complain about her anymore, maybe Maddie is finally realizing that her talent is limited and the only reason she got the jobs she did was because of all the lying, cheating and underhand things Abby and Melissa did.
@@TJBeanz-de1db I don't like Abby but she put her all into Maddie, she lied and cheated to get Maddie opportunities she didn't earn or deserve, and now Maddie is acting like she was some kind of victim that's total BS, as far as Melissa there is no doubt that she helped Abby hide the money and then turned on her so she wouldn't go to prison. Maddie and Melissa are both users
I love the part where abby tries to claim that she didn't creat an environment where they felt like they weren't good if they didn't win... despite the fact she would rank them all on a pyramid every week and if you didn't win or place high you were put down the bottom. Or when she would routinely tell them that second place was just the first to lose 🤷
Her nose should be the size of Pinocchio because that’s the biggest lie she has told.
You do realize that these competitions on the show were fake? That they weren't actually winning first place every week.
@@dancer4life273 yes, I fully realise that... doesn't change the sentiment behind the culture and atmosphere that was bred on that show one bit.
@@dancer4life273 doesn’t change the shit abby said to the kids. she still meant it.
@@taylorharvey6091 the OGs and their moms got what they wanted out of the show and being on TV. They got to walk red carpet events , go to Hollywood parties that they wouldn't have gotten in, and the mother's could live vicariously through their daughters.
She was literally a kid...........
i always thought abbie lee s methods were akin to child abuse--i would never send a child of mine to a studio like that!!!
It was pure psychological abuse. I’ve never seen such horrible treatment of kids on air, can’t believe that show was on for so long.
Absolutely.
This woman is still riding Maddie's coattails. SAD. Just let Maddie be, you caused her a lot of psychological harm, own up to that, maybe it would help Abby.
Abby will never ever let anyone have that satisfaction unfortunately. I think she is so twisted. I’m glad those girls are out of that.
Huh? Maddie mentioned Abby in print. Abby is just responding.
Oh give me a break. Those moms kept their kids in that studio for one selfish reason..MONEY. Maddie's mom apparently had a reputation for adultery and being a gold digger. Christy let that cat outta the bag during an episode. The Ziegler's knew what they were doing.
@@waterflows21 You know that’s all fake, right? Melissa and Kurt divorced because Kurt was neglecting the children. It’s shameful that people believe a tv show over the family themself!
@@oliviarush3289 Is she a narc or a psychopath? I know this is armchair judging lol but it really wouldn't surprise me..especially as she hasn't learned a thing. Lack empathy in a massive scale.
For me, I wouldn't want an out of shape instructor teaching my child anything physical. If you're not able to do any of the moves you expect the kids to do, get outta here! I don't care if she was once the best dancer in the world, her weight has made her unhappy and that trickles down to those she teaches. Kids are taught to be bullies, they aren't born that way and what that woman did was straight bullying! Any parent that allows their child to go through that physical and mental abuse is just at fault as the abuser a.k.a Abby
She was also really insecure about her weight because she would CONSTANTLY call the girls fat and body shame them. Which is horrible because 1. They are really young they shouldn’t go through that, and they don’t know how to handle that kind of situation yet. 2. They aren’t even fat and she’s making them self-conscious about their body because she’s insecure about hers.
"maddie wanted to win, she wanted to be the best, she was a perfectionist" maybe because you put so much pressure on her to win and taught her that she needs to win to have any value?
Nothing like gaslighting. Makes me sick.
There are multiple clips of Abby telling the kids that 2nd place is "First to lose." She repeatedly bashed the students if they didn't come in 1st, and then put them at the bottom of the pyramid. Abby's lost track of the fact that many things that Maddie mentions are on video clips of the show. Abby's said some hateful things that were caught on video. Now she's being called out for being a toxic teacher by her former students? Good for them - they've grown up and they're not kids anymore. Notice that Abby never addressed the fact that she went to jail for fraud.
Pyramid was set up for the show that was not something that was done at Abby's studio. The common about second place is a scripted line from a reality TV show . Bankruptcy fraud let's see who worked at the front desk at her studio and should have been making payments oh I believe that was Melissa. Abby said it herself many times she had to learn who to trust and trusted the wrong person
A 50 year old something woman is asking someone to be thankful for something she had received from her when she was 8 and had absolutely no control over whether she wanted it or not...
Let’s be real, if Maddie had told Abby that she didn’t wanna dance anymore, she would’ve went ballistic. Abby treated Maddie like the kid she never had simply because Melissa was the only mother who would allow her to treat her daughter as such. Abby would dress her, take her out on competition in which her mother couldn’t go too, had her spend the night at her own private home often so, I don’t believe it would’ve been that easy if Maddie truly wanted to quit dance. Maddie even reiterated several times during Dance Moms that she never wanted to let Ms.Abby down and she was a pleaser when it came to Abby.
I remember vividly when Maddie forgot her solo and had the panic attack. I think it was the following week Abby had put her down to perform and Maddie asked if she could take a break because her confidence was clearly shot. Abby literally punished her for the next couple of weeks stating that when she got the opportunity to dance she said no. Abby Lee Miller may have selective memory but we do not. Nothing about her behaviour created an environment were a person would want to stay forever
Calif Labor law you cant force a minor to work even they have a contract the kids could of got out at anytime.
Melissa signed guardianship over to Abby for her girls so if Abby was that bad why would she do such a thing? If you had kids would you leave them with somebody that you thought was toxic
Abby constantly demanded that Maddie chose her over her own mother. That's creepy.
@@missymani Maddie chose to alienate her friends but y'all don't seem to have a problem with that... Also Maddie & the girls couldn't do the show without their mothers physically being in the studio. There is no way Maddie could've come in against her moms wishes
I think of course she is at fault for how she treated them. However I also partially blame the parents. If your child is being abused emotionally or otherwise, you are supposed to protect them.
There needs to be more protection for the children.
You're right about both.
I agree those moms were the worst they all got paid very well. At the end of the day those MOMS got a lot of nerve saying toxic environment all they did was talk about there kid being on top. That Jill danced with Abby when she was a kid she knew how Abby was and yet she put her 2 girls in Abby’s dance school. I’m watching this show now and the moms were so crazy too!!!! I was a gymnast and my coach yell the whole entire practice lol I don’t feel sorry for those and there Moms.
@@minnielee6624 they did not get paid much at all honey watch dance moms uncovered because paragraph is ignorant
To be fair Kelly did just that in the end. Apparently she wanted out of her contract from season 1 and it took her giving Abby a smack to the face to get her out of it.
Abby herself said Christi and Chloe weren’t allowed to leave.
Melissa tried to get Maddie and Kenzie out early.
Kelly literally went to COURT to free Brooke and Paige.
There WAS a contract (Abby’s lying about that), they were ALL stuck, and Dance Moms was never supposed to be a full TV show. It was pitched as a six-episode miniseries and the premise was changed only AFTER it was too late to back out.
Abby: "First of all, I have never said that."
Also Abby: "SECOND IS THE FIRST TO LOSE!"
I really don’t even think Abby hears herself when she talks…
*WoooW, hold up! Abbie 100% did scold Maddie for associating with a rival!* A couple of years ago I got really really sick and binge watched some "Dance Mom's" episodes (which I immediately stopped doing when I got better)..but I recall that Maddie had held hands with a boy backstage, I think from CandyApple, and Abbie jumped all over Maddie saying she wasn't allowed to fraternize with the enemy..so Abbie 100% jumped all over Maddie for that..it's on one of the episode's 🤦
Melissa did the same thing.
@@dancer4life273 Right! People act like their actions weren't caught on camera 😂
You’re 100% right, it was Gino from Candy Apples.
How can she say “I’m a dance teacher, I don’t tell you who to be friends with” when she threw a fit over the moms still being friends with Kelly? I know she was a mom and not a rival but still it’s kinda hypocritical
in the latest season Abby literally kicked out a girl because her mom got flowers from a rival studio. she was no longer allowed to be with the rest of the girls or compete.
She was a child!! Of course it was toxic! Look at the instructor!
The show was toxic. And to simply excuse the behavior saying: “if it was so toxic why didn’t you leave?”
Is the same as diminishing a person’s pain in an abusive relationship. It’s difficult to leave and sometimes you don’t even realize the dynamic is toxic until later on. Not to mention just because you’re the favorite doesn’t mean she was exempt from all of it. She was under constant pressure, manipulated, consistently told that dance was to be above friends or family, and it was shoved in her face when she tried to make the right decisions as a CHILD. And despite all this she was still very respectful in her interview. She gave credit to dance moms even stating that she felt sickly guilty at first for leaving but eventually having to come to peace with it.
Abby is so tone deaf to even make that statement!! The thing is Maddy did leave eventually for the very same reasons. It is hard to walk away from something you've been doing your whole life and I'm sure as she got got older and understood she could leave and it would be okay. She made the most out of the opportunities she was givien and thrived. If Abby cannot take accountability for the abuse she inflicted on those little kids she is a lost cause. Your name has already been tarnished sis, and you did that for yourself on television regardless of what the producers had you do.
I see Abby is still a narcissist and only cares about her name. If she ever cared about Maddie I would think she would say something like I'm sorry that I made you feel that way. I didn't realize what I did was harmful to you. I would never want to hurt you. And she could be supportive. Everyone makes mistakes and you grow and learn better. Not Abby. She will defend her actions till her last breathe bc she is alway right in her mind. Reguardless, if she feels she did anything wrong its about how she made Maddie feel. How she feels is valid. She has a right to feel however she wants about her childhood.
What exactly does Abby have to feel sorry for? Maybe that she allowed them to film at her dance studio. Abby didn't force them to sign up for the show in fact Abby wasn't even part of the equation for the show. The only reason she got roped into it is when the producers hurt her with her teen group which was a group that was hers she didn't work with Maddie and the girls that was done for the show
@@dancer4life273 I gave up on that show after a while but she was working with Maddie all ths time in the beginning. She was verbally abusive to say the least but it doesn't matter what I think. Its about how Maddie feels and if Abby cared about her she would apologize to her for making her feel that way even if she didn't think she did anything wrong. Its not like Maddie is filing a lawsuit against her. It did seem like a toxic environment for the kids. I know I thought that kind of stuff was normal when I was a kid bc all the adults just accepted it. I didn't know any better.
So to answer your question I'd say she should feel sorry for hurting Maddie.
i used to agree with abby because i haven’t watched dance moms in a LONG time, and now I can’t even get past halfway of season 4.
And the opening “if it was toxic, then why keep on doing it”??? She does realize 10 y/o s can’t recognize certain toxic environments??? And that’s how child abuse works???
This woman has racism allegations that she never apologized for, let’s focus on that.
Abby is Abby. She never pretended to be anyone else. I place the majority of the blame on the moms of the girls. They knew what she was like and how it affected their daughters, but they stayed. They cared more about the money and the exposure than their daughters’ mental well-being. Kudos to Kelly for walking away when she saw how miserable Abby made her daughters.
I only watched this show one time and I was appalled at the toxic environment and the fact that the stage mothers were allowing their children to be abused. I felt the mothers were complicit in the abuse. It was shameful.
Ikr I honestly don’t even know what the mothers were thinking of letting there kids dealing with this kind of Behavior.
"Second place is the first to lose." Like.. saying stuff like that is LITERALLY A PART OF 2:42
When she said if it was toxic why didn’t you leave that bothered me. Toxic relationships are hard and it was a pay check for them. The moms didn’t work so they prolly stayed for that too.
There's a reason why every child got scared and started panicking when they forgot their solos
Bruh watching the show it was hella toxic, the way she spoke to the kids like if they were her enemy, did Abby watched her show wtfff
What's hilarious is Abby was a guest on a podcast a few years ago and said herself that production and the show in general was very toxic. So why in the hell does Abby 6yrs later get to control Maddies experience or feelings on how it felt to be manipulated and used. Abby will say and do anything to absolve herself of guilt for the sick games she played with those girls and the Mothers and also how much karma repaid her for all her shady behavior and terrible emotional abuse.
How so many adored this low vibrational soul is beyond me!
For heaven sakes how many times did we hear 2nd place is first looser? Yea you never said toxic things to the kids! Insert eye roll!
You do realize that those were fake competitions and a scripted line?
@@dancer4life273 It was not. The show was heavily EDITED. Not scripted, they weren’t told to say something specific.
@@sarahalviz979 fake competitions and reactions to winning 1st place scripted. They needed to work on their acting skills so they are least looked surprised. Mothers swearing and acting like idiots (- real life unscripted) or as they put it heavily edited. One will never know unless the producers discuss what truly happened on that show. There are so many different versions of what took place on and off camera it's hard to keep them straight. The one thing that has been consistent is the Long contract, but no one has said why did they force their kids to continue when ALDC was a toxic place.
For some reason I see my old and toxic boss asking me this. I had NO way to quit because I would not get unemployment compensation if I up and quit, I needed to stay at the job to continue making a living and I was trying to get another job lined up but at the time, no one was hiring until I finally passed the CBEST and became a substitute in a rural school district and am now on my way to becoming a math teacher and I am the happiest I’ve ever been. It’s been three years since I’ve left that job for subbing and I LOVE IT and realize that teaching is my calling NOT office work let alone working for the state (EDD) which is what I started off with and yes my boss is as toxic as Abby Lee Miller.
If the moms are on contract, what choice did the dance girls have? Yes Maddy and the other dancers were NOT on contract but the moms were. So again, what choice did she truly have? If she quit, and not be on the show, what about her mom who is under contract? I don’t get it? It’s not Maddy’s fault. So don’t pin this on her Abby! What I don’t understand is why you (as an adult) are blaming a little girl?
No one is siding with you Abby. You’re on your own. You may have gotten away with your unprofessional and highly disrespectful behavior in the past during the show, but now, you are facing the consequences of your actions and hostile impact.
How is no one blaming Melissa? She is the parent, and she is the one who allowed all of this to happen all in the name of money and fame.
Abby would not allow Maddie to look at Chloe during certain competitions because she didn’t wanna psych her out because she knew Chloe looked good. Terrible teaching habits
No that's smart. You don't want them to see the competition because then it psyches them out
She also told her that Chloe would never be happy for her, and that she was jealous of her. Chloe, the girl that was the first to cheer for Maddie when they announced her as first every time, the same girl that gave her own first place trophy with a smile when they announced the scoring "errors", yeah, she was clearly jealous of Maddie.
@@mthiel115 that’s bullshit. She should be able to watch and support her friend. Abby had no problem letting Chloe watch Maddie dance…
@@fortheloveofcats2462 exactly thank you
She’s manipulative and just a terrible human being.
Chloe,Maddie and others don't need to say it was toxic,you can see it on camara
This woman is incredibly narcissistic and it’s hard to watch her attempt to completely wash her hands of any responsibilities when it comes to her hand in publicly humiliating and mentally traumatizing these girls.
She was a freakin child!!!! Jeez they realized how toxic it was after they matured and you should feel bad for taking a child, who doesn't even realize how toxic it was, and treating her in such a toxic environment!
How can she say that show wasn't toxic. I know alot was scripted but the way abby acted and talked to the kids was horrible.
A. She was a child and likely didn’t realize how damaging it was
B. She was a child and didn’t want to ruin her chances of a career
C. She loved dance, and respected Abbie.
No one knows what this child went through being threatened to be the best. Maddie is a beautiful dancer but it was because SHE strives to be the best and it was a GIFT! Abby was a season in her life that was bitter sweet but she still had to go through so much as a young child. Abby seemed obsessed with this girl and Melissa saw that. I could only imagine the peace in these girls minds when they left that show and network
That obsession was discomforting.
Classic case of gaslighting people who know how to make you feel insecure and like you need them
"The kids didn't have a contract, but the moms did" ...HELLO, the show was centered around the kids dancing. If the mothers were bound by a contract, the kids were essentially bound by those contracts as well.
"Why did you keep doing it?" Says one of the adults in the situation to the child with no say in it.
Dance moms was definitely a toxic environment but, I blame the mother's. They encouraged and allowed their own children to be emotionally and verbally abused for a pretty penny. Shame on all of them! Also, Maddie should of kept her mouth closed in the first place. Why even go back to those day's and comment so negatively, move forward not backwards. It doesn't paint her in a good light in fact it show's the apple's never falls far from the tree.
Wanting to dance and being screamed at and bullied by Abby...as did all the other girls...Is totally different. 🤨
We all watched you Abby...Now you deny it. If my child was in your studio and YOU were the instructor she would have been yanked out the minute you screamed at her or any other child.
Between Abby & all of the Moms, it was a super toxic environment for those kids. I had anxiety just from watching. After awhile I couldn't even watch anymore. I felt so bad for those kids. The adults were insanely ridiculous.
“If it was so toxic, why did you keep doing it?” Yep. That’s some shit an abuser would say.
Maddie should have left if it was so toxic. No she stayed until she got famous .
her defense is that she didn’t have contract as if that makes it any better. like bruh that is the perfect set up for a child to be overworked and abused😭
Literally 1. She was a teenager -- and 2. How would she know what to do at that age - it takes full on adults YEARS to leave toxic situations
When Abby talks about her former students she always talks about when they were younger. I think Abby was only looking at the first couple seasons where Maddie didn’t have much of a voice on the show. Where Maddie was mostly talking about season 4 and up.
I think why Maddie said that Abby didn’t let her be friends with her rivals was probably because when there’s a competition, you can’t think of them as your friends and have to think of them as your competitors, and Abby probably said that to the kids. But I doubt Abby said they can’t be friends outside of competing.
bro she has this weird obsession with Maddie like u are a 50 year old women bullying a 19 year old girl like let them live their lives and keep their names out your mouth like move on with your life they sure have
“I truly thought maddie liked being on the show and dancing at my studio. I take responsibility for my toxic behavior that was shown on tv even if i do believe some of it was dramatized. I do apologize to maddie and everyone else for my behavior on that show. I have grown over the past years and I see how my actions were wrong” NOT THAT HAD ABBEY…
Abby is not her mom. She can blame only her mom. But hey lets blame Abby.
I encourage everyone to go watch Abby’s videos about what really happened behind the scenes on dance moms. She definitely has done a lot of wrong things, but so has everyone else. It’s good to gain perspective. Maddie may have been a child, but she would never be where she is now if not for that show, that studio, and the solos she got over all the other girls.
And none of that excuses how Abby manipulated and abused her. Yes Maddie was treated better but she was also manipulated and abused by Abby in a weird predatory way. Watching Abby’s videos does nothing bc as you can see she is a LIAR!!! She’s blatantly lying and always lies. You can’t trust a word she says.
That’s on the producers, not Abby. If you watch Abby’s videos you also know Abby doesn’t control who gets solos and who doesn’t. That’s all production. So if Maddie has to be thankful for anybody, it’s production. And Maddie has thanked Lifetime many times.
So that gives abby the okay to treat them like shit? There are so many successful Broadway dancers that were not treated the way she treated those girls. It can be done but this b**** doesn't care. She's a narcissist so she'll never be wrong in her mind
@Sara Moustamandi Abby wasn't supposed to be on the show. The producers heard her coaching her teen group and like the dynamic
it's disgusting that you justify all the abuse that we literally saw just because she "did other good things" . that's what abusers do, they are also nice because that's how they buy loyalty. she doesn't own Maddie or any of the girls.
I watched the show and I wondered why the parents did not call cps or take their child to another studio. It seems Abby became the elephant in the room and the parents where her servants and the children should pledged their loyalty only to her at all times while at her dance 🩰 studio.
Maddie's mother Melissa signed her life away to Abby & Dance Moms so she really can't blame Abby! It's her mothers fault for letting it get so far..Melissa never listened to her daughters..& she put her interests first! She was going through a divorce in the begining of the show & would even send Maddie & Mackenzie to competitions alone with Abby! Meanwhile she was on vacations...
Eek...selfish Melissa. Apparently she would have let Maddie get on a plane with Harvey W until Sia stopped her. Who know what sort of grooming etc they were exposed to.
Maddie was Abbys favorite. How was that toxic?
Doesn’t mean it wasn’t toxic. Being the favorite is overrated.
@@FreedomofSpeech865 Maddy got everything handed to her, dances, secret competitions, auditions, etc.
It was toxic, because Maddie felt that she always needed to be perfect to live up to that expectation, she ignored her health for it, she lost friends because of it, she would stress herself out if she didn't win. No child should feel that way.
The toxic environment doesn’t just refer to the Maddie/Abby relationship. Maddie grew up around screaming parents talking crap about her and her mother. Watching Abby’s relationship with the other moms would also be considered toxic. Don’t forget Abby’s lawsuit. Some of the charges against Abby were the fact she hid money in her instructors and students suit cases when she return from Australia. Abby was definitely a toxic person to be around, even for the favorite.
@Sara Moustamandi omg she was not sexually abused!!! STOP YOUR RUMORS, MADDIE & HER MOTHER REAPED ALL THE BENEFITS INCLUDING MONEY! Abby did her time & most of the show was staged for ratings
how is she going to say the moms had contracts and the kids didn't GIRL I'm pretty sure the moms and the kids are a package deal the show wouldn't be dance moms if it just had the moms and not the kids so if the moms are contractually obligated the kids got to be there to or else the show wouldn't make since wtf is she talking about so even if the kids "didn't have contracts" like she said if their moms have to come to set the kids have to come too and I remember one of the moms saying that if they tried to leave abbys studio there kids titles would be taken away or they had to pay an expensive bill for them to leave I'm pretty sure and ain't nobody got time for that that's probably why they staid for so long
Exactly! How were the mum's meant to come in if their kids weren't there?!
I just feel that Melissa was all about the $$$. I don’t feel that Maddie ever had the choice to make on her own.
She had her own strange relation with Maddie. Her reactions were off to her own kids.
Now that the original dance moms girls are all adults I want them to talk about the show more when they’re ready. In their own words. If the environment was so toxic why didn’t they leave? I think the show was super fake.
They kept doing it because of contracts.
They signed the long contract after season 1.
Abby you do realized these are kids right??? 💀
Exactly. If it was so toxic, why did they keep coming back? If it was so toxic, how come they are still reaping the rewards of fame and fortune from being on the show? Because they knew they would be rewarded with the fame and fortune. I dont see any of them struggling for jobs or money. I get that there was favoritism and yelling and arguments and stress, but you get that everywhere in life, especially when there isn't an entire TV station camera crew in the room watching every move. Try working at a mcdonalds as a 16 year old instead, I guarantee they wouldnt have been half as nice as Abby or treat you half as fairly.
Why aren't they "silent treatment"ing and TV bashing their mothers for allowing Abby to yell at them all those years and never pulling them out of Abbys studio? These girls and their mothers are using Abby as the scapegoat for all the issues they've ever had with eachother.
First of all! I’m not gonna let people rip on Abby! The show was called Dance Moms ! All the moms
Used Abby to get their kids famous. F**k a contract if a woman was abusive to my kid. We’d be done ! And it wouldn’t have taken me 12 years to do it. It was a mutual beneficial relationship. Abby was getting her studio famous and the moms were getting their kids famous . Thats the industry. The industry is toxic. Abby Lee is one lady. The very 1st episode Melissa said “ Abby is gonna make my kid a start ⭐️ And she did . Melissa was at Maddy’s moms death bed and treated her like her own mother and she took care of her dog. So I’m not buying this “ Abby was soooooo toxic bull !” No Maddie your mom saw you and your sister as a meal ticket and she was s opportunist!!!! And she used Abby, dance moms and you to get all the way to fame ! Now are you talented ? Of course all the girls are ! But you were Abby’s favorite and you had the most opportunities, cuss your mom was always in Abby’s face! And now you’ve made it you wanna forgot how and who got you there . FAKE !! That’s the problem with this industry! You are just as privileged and toxic and the rest of them! Unfortunately your mothers did this to you all when your were all children but your laughing all the way to the bank! But remember! Hollywood loved the young and talented, but you won’t always be this young , it will one day turn on you too, the way it did Abby . And by then Abby will be a old women in her rocking chair 🪑 and she gonna be like 👍 “ I told ya! “ Karma ! What goes around comes around … all of them ! Abby may not be perfect but she sacrificed a lot for people who weren’t even her kids ! All the fame , and money , and success… Abby, LEE , Miller
Idk why Abby is upset, it's not like we needed Maddie to tell us that show was toxic. We literally saw Abby abusing children with our own eyes
Maddie only has her carrer because of Abby.
I’m sure she’s referring to Abby only, most of the moms and producers as well. I think..
My dance studio was toxic, and I didn’t want to leave because I was in denial.
Did anyone outside of Pittsburgh even know about the ALDC before the show happened? Does anyone even care find the show ended. Looks to me like everyone still follows the girls, yet has forgotten about abby and the ALDC. Pretty sure maddie became globally known from the Sia vids, not lil old dance moms 😂
I think (could be mistaken) her studio was becoming financially defunct until Melissa's sugar daddy, I mean wealthy husband bailed her out.
the fact that abby said if it was so toxic then why did u stay when maddie literally was 8 years old when she started the show
2:49, in answer to Abby, " You might not have overtly said that young dance competitors, without said reward is 'less than', but you could have done or said it covertly, which in my experience can be even more powerful and destructive"! These answers might be something some people today label, 'word salad' to avoid being frank and honest with the public and prior child dancers and family. Admittedly I don't envy Abby's situation and position and maybe she doesn't have to be on her own, so playing the victim & being hard done by has been her stance but sadly means this nightmare will never end, so nibbling on some humble pie might improve her current situation as it stands.
“Why Did A 9 Year Old Realize She Wasn’t Contracted To Stay When I Yelled At Her For Listening To Her Mother Instead Of Me?”
It was not toxic when she was getting all the dance numbers and was always praise by abbey
It wasn't toxic until Jojo is getting more attention than she is ..
You Abby stans are ridiculous, anyone with a 🧠 could see how emotionally manipulative Abby was to Maddie. Abby is a narcissistic abuser, and she wonders why none of them visited her in hospital. You people are just as bad for defending CHILD ABUSE.
tricky talker isn't she. didn't take a rocket scientist to see the toxicity at the studio. abbey is a tricky talker.
Abby is a narcissistic abuser.
I blame the fame hungry mom.
2nd is the first to loose.
Its the mother fault not even Abby’s fault as a mother u protect your child period
This is a no win situation for both..
Abby adored Maddy.
Maddy was in an environment where yelling screaming name-calling , jealous adult's was the norm..her peers felt all types on the high & low ..it was her environment..
Not to mention how much Abby put pressure on her sister as well. I would not like that watching someone hurt my sister. Would definitely have me feeling some way all by itself. Coach or not. Oh yea and don't forget the producers.
The toxic ones are the parents. Not Abby!!!!
Gurl-
If my child was in a toxic situation I would remove them from it. If the atmosphere at Dance Moms was so bad, the children should blame their parents for continuing to bring them to the studio, not the dance instructor. They were there by choice and could have gone to a different studio at any time. They wanted the fame they were garnering by working with Abby Lee.
I don't blame Abby Lee. Her style was her style. The parents knew it going into the contracts they signed. I think it's sad to see how everyone has turned on the person who helped facilitate their current success, including the cover of Cosmo. #stayhumble and be genuinely appreciative. It's a better look on each of you.
Glad you are better, Abby Lee! Hang in there.
I disagree with you. After reading all the production notes, watching the behind the scenes clips, and knowing a little more knowledge about the contract Abby had the parents under for her studio plus the contract with lifetime, and how people were treated by Abby and the producers on and off camera, you get the sense that all Abby did in this video was victim blame.
You people are instigators and really dramatic. Slammed??? Did you watch Abby's video??? She addressed what Maddie said. Toxicity is ruining your marriage to sign your children away to reality t.v. like Melissa. The stage moms were toxic, they wanted fame and fortune. Maddie always wanted to win, she always said it and Abby trained her to do so. She wouldn't be on the cover of anything if not for the show so she should chill out. As soon as Melissa sold Maddie to Sia, she no longer needed Abby. Maddie danced around like a little Sia puppet for years.... straight weirdo. People are mad at the dance teacher that parents would do anything for their children to be trained by??? That's moronic!!! Protect your children and don't sell them out to Hollyweird... not hard✔
Her and the tv producers created this environment. I’ve worked with as well as friends worked with Abby prior to the show and she was tough but nothing like what was depicted on the show. Money clearly blinder her and tv producers are known for creating drama and toxic environments