Top 10 Dark Truths About Dance Moms

Casts of the show have repeatedly said that while “Dance Moms” isn’t exactly scripted, it is edited and influenced by producers. Kalani Hilliker revealed that the season 5 walkout was created by producers after they thought it would be good for the show’s ratings. Maddie Ziegler also commented on the producers meddling with the show, saying that the moms have fake fights and the producers set up the drama. The mother of one of the minis stated that the producer interference was so bad, they were the ones telling Abby Lee Miller which dancer to cut. Allegedly, Miller was fined when she didn’t want to do what she was told.

The bombshells in season 5 just kept on coming and one of them was about the cast member Kira Girard allegedly doing some shady stuff back in the day. RadarOnline got hold of the court documents which revealed that in 2005, Girard was involved in a fraud scheme. Allegedly, she would sell TVs on eBay and not actually send them to the buyers once she received the money. Those documents stated that she scammed four people in total who have sued her for over $15,000. Girard denied any involvement in this case but eventually pleaded guilty when the court presented video evidence of her depositing the checks.

Over the years, fans as well as some of the moms, noticed Abby’s unfair treatment of Chloe Lukasiak. These rumors were confirmed in 2014 when competition attendee Francisco Thurston revealed what he saw happen behind the scenes. He claimed that Miller tried to tell the judges that dancer Kamryn Beck should’ve won over Lukasiak and said she wasn’t happy about Lukasiak’s win at all. Thurston said that Miller allegedly told the judges that Lukasiak was never in class and didn’t deserve this victory. In season 8, Miller finally confirmed in an episode she indeed never wanted Lukasiak to win.

Remember the pyramid where Miller reveals which kid was placed where? The cast stated that it takes four hours to film the pyramid scene. This has also been confirmed by Miller as well as Maddie and Mackenzie Ziegler, who also added that at first, they were allowed to sit on the ground and stretch, but later, they had to stand the entire time.The long filming process also meant that the girls had to have a teacher on set. In her YouTube video, Nia Sioux revealed that they shared a single teacher across a lot of grade levels for the seven years they were filming the show.

As was evident on the show, things weren’t always perfect in the “Dance Moms” world. In 2014, former cast member Kelly Hyland filed a lawsuit against Miller after an incident during a rehearsal that resulted in shouting and physical contact. According to Hyland, this argument was provoked by producers. Later on, Hyland’s daughter Paige Hyland also sued Miller, citing emotional and physical distress as the main reason. Court documents state that Miller would pinch her dancers so hard they were showing physical discomfort. The lawsuit was dismissed due to insufficient evidence. Finally, Miller sued Kelly Hyland after the latter assaulted Miller on screen.

In 2015, a man by the name of Phoenix Sundown, was arrested after sending 11 very inappropriate packages to Maddie and 5 to JoJo. The man had a zombie version of Miller tattooed on his throat and JoJo on his back. Another man claimed he was married to Brooke Hyland and even managed to post their wedding announcement in a local newspaper. Payton Ackerman claimed that it was sometimes the show’s editing that contributed to the bad behavior from “Dance Moms” fans. For example, Ackerman stated she was made to look like a villain, which resulted in disrespect from the fans, even in public.

Think Abby Miller was mean onscreen? Jill Vertes did an interview in which she claimed she was worse off camera, when people wouldn’t be able to see the real her. This was also confirmed by Miller herself, who said that when the cameras are off during pyramid, she is really mean to the moms. Sioux said that some of the things Miller said weren’t allowed to be aired because of how shocking they were. Remember the moment when Miller said Lukasiak was washed up? She actually told Chloe Lukasiak’s mom to go fix her lazy eye, but the show edited it.

In March 2017, Abby Lee Miller revealed she wouldn't be returning to the show. Soon after, news came out that she pleaded guilty to 20 counts of fraud and violating currency reporting laws. She was sentenced to one year and one day in jail and had to pay a fine of $40,000. The sentencing came to light after it was revealed Miller concealed $755,000 after declaring bankruptcy. She also had to surrender the $120,000 she did not declare after the show went to Australia. Miller eventually returned to the show to film season 8 after serving time in prison.

In a now-deleted video, Lukasiak revealed some secrets about her time at “Dance Moms.” But the biggest bombshell she dropped was when she said that she got kicked out of the studio. It happened at the beginning of season 4. The reason? She wouldn’t sign the contract, which seemed to have been stricter than ever. The Lukasiaks disagreed with the contract stating she couldn’t change her appearance or gain or lose weight. She also added that Miller wanted 10% of the money she made during “Dance Moms.” Lukasiaks refused to sign, which resulted in Chloe getting kicked out.

Although Ziegler was Miller’s beloved student and a star dancer on the show, her relationship with “Dance Moms” is far more complicated than that. Ziegler stated she’d never seen a full episode of the show due to the heavy emotional burden she experienced while filming it. Ever since leaving the show, the Zieglers have cut ties with Abby Lee Miller, so much so that none of them even mention their former dance teacher. Although Miller hasn’t forgotten about her star student, Maddie Ziegler moved on and left the “Dance Moms” world in the past. What went on behind the scenes of that decision? We might never know.


Who is your favorite “Dance Moms” dancer? Make sure you let us know in the comments below!