Maddie Ziegler 'At Peace' NEVER Talking to Abby Lee Miller Again

Maddie Ziegler is opening up about her relationship with former dance instructor and ‘Dance Moms’ star Abby Lee Miller. In a new interview with 'Cosmopolitan,' the 19-year-old actress reveals that she has not spoken to Abby since she left the show and her dance company in 2016.

[taylormoravec]

Jojo and her mom knew what they were signing up for. Maddie and the original cast members didn’t know what was coming. major difference.

[cjrg]

There is absolutely nothing wrong with her not speaking to her dance coach, if she felt it was toxic then she did the right thing....nobody needs to stay in a toxic relationship so why is everyone so upset over what is so right?

[sjorsdewit]

There's a lot of people that shame Maddie for not talking to Abby anymore, but can we really blame her? Like the pressure that Abby always put on Maddie was insane not to mention that Abby always told Maddie that her friends didn't care about her and she had to listen to Abby constantly dragging them down

[sofiaherrera]

Jojo said it herself, she entered as a fan. It's a different experience, bc as a big fan u accept anything knowing how it could help you and your career. The other girls grew up there, they didn't ask to be that successful, so they weren't ok with the poor treatment they were getting.

[jessicajoerndt]

I’m so happy because Abby is finally getting everything that she has always deserved. She went to jail, her students are not talking to her, she is not getting any of the credit. As it should be. You don’t get to traumatize and abuse children and still be able to take credit for their success. She did way more damage than she did good. I feel like Maddie was the icing on the cake to publicly announce that she was in a toxic environment, and to say that she never wants to have a relationship with Abby. All of the other girls were very clearly abused but for Maddie it was a little bit more covered up because of the favoritism. I’m so glad that she spoke out as well.

[EsaCrisbel]

Abby had an unhealthy obsession with Maddie. She even kissed her on the lips and would mistreat her mother. Lack of boundaries

[courtneyw]

For the people that judge Maddie. Ask yourself... would you rather Maddie continue not speaking to Chloe, her sister, and other former dance friends in order to keep her relationship with Abby? Or would you rather her leave the woman that clearly manipulated her and used her as a weapon towards everyone... thus making her relationship with her sister stronger than ever, and being allowed to reconnect with the friends she had to give up on the show.
Because you can't have both honey... Abby wouldn't allow Maddie to have those relationships because she controlled her so much that Maddie didn't even want to go ice skating with her team out of fear she would injure herself and Abby would be mad. She knows where she came from, but imagine being super close with someone that abused others.. you WILL go through some abuse in private. Freaking Maddie danced out of fear sometimes. Even saying "Abby's going to kill me" when she forgot her routine. Tell me why would she be sooo fearful if Abby was super nice.

[thehardrockhippie]

As someone who watched Maddie’s journey through Dance Moms for years… I can understand why she wouldn’t want to talk to her anymore. Abby did do a lot to help boost her career but I imagine it took a toll on her because Abby treated Maddie like the golden child and it was evident to the other kids/moms. It’s not Maddies fault but constantly being put on a pedestal in front of your peers can’t have been good for any of them. Glad to see Maddie is doing well!

[Gurl-]

Considering the way Jojo was treated by Abbie, it screams volumes that she's so generous towards her.

[Cantetinza]

I felt that Abby put so much pressure on Maddie. I'm so glad that JoJo had positive things to say about Abby and that she brought up the business aspect and education that she learned from Abby.

[hannahgoodchild]

There’s nothing wrong or selfish or ungrateful with cutting someone toxic off to protect your mental health

[roaram]

Jojo so humble and nice.. Maddie down to earth no time for BS. Both amazing ladies. Never forget where you come from.

[malikabias]

Maddie Ziegler stay strong don’t ever let anyone pressure you into being in a toxic situation

[lb]

Maddie was Abby favorite.. It is funny, because Abby treated Jojo the worst other than Nia.

[johnsmi]

I can see why JoJo still appreciates the show despite Abby's abuse. The show was already a hit and Abby championed for her to join the cast after encountering her on a competition show spin-off (Abby's Ultimate Dance Competition.) JoJo and her mom both realized that they could use being on the hit show as a platform to launch her brand, etc. and they did, successfully. So no matter how their experience was, they have to give credit for Abby for including JoJo and her mom because they literally would be unknowns if they hadn't gotten the exposure to introduce the world to her bows, style, etc.

As for Maddie, Abby wants to claim her championing her got her noticed by Sia and therefore she would have never had the opportunity without "Dance Moms." Which is true. But it's Maddie taking the opportunity and knocking it out of the park that got her the world's attention and made Sia want to keep collaborating with her. So it's mitigating her talent by constantly saying "Oh, I'm only here because I was on a reality show that Sia watched." Maybe that's how she got noticed but that's not how she became a star and yes, Abby's training helped her to be a stickler for perfection but she still was disciplined and passionate enough to excel under her guidance. Abby wants to say "Without me..." and Maddie's talent is evident regardless of who she coached with. So she can only give her so much credit.

[tabiheider]

You can both acknowledge that Abby trained the girls and respect the girls distancing themselves from Abby.

[mackenzie]

Some of you don't understand that she can be greatful and still choose not to talk to her. An example would be Britney spears. Her parents put her into acting and singing at a young age. Her parents were extremely toxic and she does not need to talk to them just because they brought her into this world. No one should have to put up with abuse.

[lillianaluna-martalucrezia]

im actually so happy that maddie and nia are neighbors. as children, nia was definetly the odd one out. and then the longer they danced together the more like sisters they all became. so i love even in adulthood, you know that feeling when you graduate high school and you never see those people again, i love that nia and maddie actually live their lives beside each other. that makes me literally so happy, because watching the show, i knew nia struggled. but its amazing to see how as adults they live right by each other.

[gracesthill]

Abby Miller, a grown woman, told an 8 year old kid, Maddie, "none of your friends are happy for you, everyone is jealous of you, better get used to losing your friends, its lonely at the top" she broke up Maddies friendships which were none of her business, and yelled at Maddies mum, undermined and berated her in front of Maddie. Maddie and the girls would cry in the dressing rooms because they were scared of the shouting matches that would break out between Abby and the mums who were trying to fiercely defend and protect their kids from her awful behaviour. And Maddie, like a lot of the other girls, suffered panic attacks from the fear of failure and forgetting routines on stage because the pressure was too much, and whats worse is that they were trapped in contracts which disabled the mums from walking out for the sake of their childrens mental health and safety. Pushing a child to do better is one thing, which Abby Miller is good at, but she did also abuse Maddie and the other girls emotionally and verbally to varying degrees. Heck, I wouldn't have ANY interest in keeping contact with a woman who did that to me throughout my childhood, even if that woman helped me succeed. Sounds like Abby can't let go. You teach someone everything you can and then let them go, teaching is a thankless job, you just move onto the next student and get on with it, she keeps b!tching about these girls for being ungrateful, they're not ungrateful, they just don't want to talk to you anymore, which is their right. Get over it! And Jojo loves to invalidate everyone else's experiences on the show. Abby threw a chair next to Paige ffs, she made no effort to build that kids confidence and did everything the shatter it, then sent her onstage, Paige forgot her routine and then the poor girl got screamed at for it in front of her friends and the mums, and then got screamed at even more for showing any emotion at all. Its a kids dance competition, not the god damn army. And people keep using the statement "it was all for tv anyway so it doesn't matter" when you're a kid and you see your mum shouting and crying at a woman who won't stop taunting her child, I'm sure that feels very real to them, so don't gimme that crap.

[raph]

Good for you Maddy...that stuff was outta control. All the yelling was a bit shocking. 😬
I don't think adults should be allowed to yell at kids the way that you were yelled at, or bossed around. I'm glad you're speaking out about it. Very very brave dude.