JoJo Siwa Reveals 'Dance Moms Reunion' Pushed Her To Call Abby Lee Miller During The Show
JoJo Siwa revealed in her podcast that the producers of the "Dance Moms" reunion special kept asking her to call their former dance teacher, Abby Lee Miller, during filming.
It is widely known that several of the reality TV series' original cast members, such as Maddie Ziegler, Brooke and Paige Hyland, and Chloé Lukasiak, do not have the best relationship with Miller. However, JoJo does. This is why the producers reportedly asked her to call Miller while they were filming the show's reunion special.
"Of all of us, me and Kalani are the two that have a relationship with Abby yet... The producers kept on wanting me to call Abby," she recently revealed in her "JoJo Siwa Now" podcast, calling the move "shady."
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(Photo : Bonnie Biess/Getty Images for Lifetime)
"I was like, 'Absolutely not.' That's where I put my foot down. Look, I'm not only putting myself in an awkward position of calling [her] in this environment that no one invited her to, but also I'm putting Abby in a weird situation where she's talking to people whom she does not necessarily know how to talk to them," said the 20-year-old singer-dancer.
"And then, Paige, Brooke, and Chloé, I was like, I'm not gonna do that to them either because this was somebody who was a massive figure in their life, that walked out of their life."
"There is real trauma there, and I didn't wanna put anybody in that situation of, like, 'Hey, let's see how this goes.' No way at all whatsoever," Siwa continued, explaining why she declined the producers' request.
(Photo : Brendon Thorne/Getty Images for the ASTRA Awards)
Meanwhile, she reiterated that she admires and respects Miller, whom she always had a good relationship with.
"The thing for me is I have a good relationship with Abby. I have chosen to see that Abby only wants what's best for me and only ever was tough on me because she was wanting what was best for me. I mean, I was just talking with Abby about three days ago about 'Karma,' and so for me, I wanted to protect my relationship with Abby," she explained.
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"And I also want to protect my relationship with Brooke, Paige and Chloé."
"One thing is I will never lose my respect for Abby, ever, for as long as I live," JoJo concluded.
(Photo : Amy Sussman/Getty Images)
Miller and some of the girls on "Dance Moms" did not have a great relationship reportedly because of her "tough love." While some praised her for it, others saw it as a traumatic experience they are still healing from.
"Whether we left in season 4 or season 5 or 8 or whatever. I think after an emotionally charged environment like that ... you need to step away, heal, just take time for yourself," Chloé said in an exclusive interview with People last April.
"It made me realize I should probably go to therapy."
"Dance Moms" released a digital exclusive of the reunion "looking back at iconic, dramatic and emotional scenes from the series" for those who missed the special episode.
Meanwhile, all "Dance Moms" episodes can still be watched on Lifetime.
