Abby Lee Miller may no longer be the host of Dance Moms.
But this doesn’t mean we’ve seen the last of Abby Lee Miller as the star of a reality television show.
We know: we’ve very sorry to break this news. Please don’t shoot the messengers.
The 50-year-old dance instructor, though, has managed to remain in the news of late for having recently undergone a gastric sleeve surgery.
During this procedure, which caused Miller a lot of physical and emotional pain, the ex-Lifetime personality had her stomach reduced by a whopping 80 percent.
She talked openly about the process with Entertainment Tonight, telling the celebrity gossip outlet this week that she’s experiencing “discomfort” and is currently on a liquid-only diet.
“They said to buy a shot glass,” Miller joked on Tuesday.
“And to put the water and protein shakes and these little milk shakes in the shot glass and drink it one ounce at a time. So I’m just going to do shots for three weeks.
“That’s my game plan.”
But what about a return to the small screen?
Is that also something Miller is planning?
It sure sounds that way.
The irritating bully of a teacher says she’s been inspired by June Shannon’s weight loss journey (or, let’s be honest, by the attention June Shannon’s weight loss journey has garnered) and says she’d consider a series that focused on her own body issues.
(Shannon returned to relevance this spring with the WEtv show From Not to Hot.)
“I saw an interview with [Mama June] afterward,” Miller told ET, proceeding to quip:
“She still sounds the same, though. Was that not nice? I tried to say that nicely.”
There’s Abby Lee Miller for you, unable to avoid snark even when it’s random and uncalled for.
Miller resigned as Dance Moms host last month via a scathing Instagram rant aimed at the show’s producers.
“I WILL NO LONGER TAKE PART IN DANCE MOMS,” she screamed online at the time, adding by way of angry explanation:
“FOR THE PAST SIX YEARS/ SEVEN SEASONS I HAVE ASKED, BEGGED, AND EVEN DEMANDED CREATIVE CREDIT FOR ALL THE IDEAS, AWARD WINNING ROUTINES, THEMES, AND COSTUMING – TO NO AVAIL!
“I HAVE A PROBLEM WITH BEING MANIPULATED, DISRESPECTED, AND USED – DAY IN AND DAY OUT BY MEN WHO NEVER TOOK A DANCE LESSON IN THEIR LIVES AND TREAT WOMEN LIKE DIRT!”
Since she issued this statement, Miller has been replaced on the Lifetime program by Cheryl Burke, while she’s taken every opportunity possible to plead her case in the meda.
She did so again in this Q&A with Entertainment Tonight, saying her recent surgery has left her feeling more free than ever before.
“I felt for seven seasons that someone else was in control of my life — telling me when I could eat and what I could eat and when I could use the ladies’ room,” she says.
“When you’re so busy shooting 12 hours a day, you just eat what someone sticks in front of you. Now I feel a lot freer and more confident in my everyday activities.”
Ironically, of course, Miller may soon be the exact opposite of free.
She is set to be sentenced at some point in the next few weeks for her admitted role in a bankruptcy scam, having pleaded guilty last year to lying to the government about her salary.
Miller could face actual prison time, even though she’s a celebrity and that probably won’t happen because the system very often sucks.
“I think this is a good thing, and hopefully I’ll be in the best shape of my life,” Miller told ET of the weight loss. “That’s what I’m looking for.”