Cheryl Burke is adding insult to Abby Lee Miller’s legal injury.
One week after Miller was sentenced to one year (and one day!) in prison, the woman who will be serving as her replacement on Dance Moms spoke to reporters and didn’t exactly sound sympathetic to Miller’s plight.
Quite the opposite, one could even say.
Asked about her experience taping new Dance Moms episodes so far, Burke opened up while backstage for her performance on Dancing with the Stars last night.
“The girls are so precious, and I feel like they are traumatized from what has happened with Abby, and it’s important for me to still be strict and do what I do,” said Burke.
The former Dancing with the Stars professional signed on as host of Dance Moms Season 8 a few weeks ago, not long after Miller resigned from the position.
“I expect nothing but the best from the girls, but it’s also important for me to make them feel confident about themselves because they are all beautiful and talented,” she added.
Miller quit as the face of Dance Moms in an anger-filled social media post back in late March.
She didn’t mention her impending sentencing for having defrauded the government in a bankruptcy scheme at the time, choosing instead to put producers on blast.
Wrote the short-tempered reality star, in all capital letters on Instagram at the time:
“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!”
Burke hasn’t said much since accepting the hosting gig earlier this spring.
But she definitely hurled a bit of shade in Miller’s direction with her comments on Monday.
“We wrapped a couple weeks ago, but I think the girls are trying to focus on them[selves],” she said when asked if Miller’s sentencing had any impact on her former students.
She then added:
“I know the moms are not sad about it!”
We would not think so, no, not based on what we saw when we’d watch Dance Moms online and Miller would get into it with the parents each week.
For her part, Burke said there will still be drama with the moms, but she feuds with them “in a different way” than Miller did.
“My mom was a crazy dance mom herself, and the hardest part is to separate from yourself,” she said, explaining:
“If the moms want to be there on the couch talking and gossiping, then that’s fine, but they can’t just barge into my room. They have to ask for permission.”
After admitting the moms get on her “nerves” at times, Burke replied to Miller’s comments that she’ll be “treated differently” by the Dance Moms production team.
“That’s BS! There is no way,” Burke said.
“This was a quick turnaround for them to have me be a part of Dance Moms, and I think everyone has been treated equally on that show.
“It really is about getting the job done, and it’s bigger than numbers and budget and if they can give you a car service. You want to do it for the girls. It depends where your heart is.”
Miller, meanwhile, has made it clear we haven’t seen the last of her.
In a pre-sentencing interview, the annoying ex-host teased the strong possibility of a new reality series once she’s a free woman.
How is she feeling about all that impending time behind bars?
“I feel relieved. I feel peaceful,” she told reporters a few days ago, concluding:
“There’s a few physical limitations, dietary limitations [in prison], of course, but it’ll be OK.
“It’s a realm of the world I know nothing about. I just know what I know and I do the best I can…
“I know that I didn’t make the right decisions all the time. I think [the punishment’s] just begun.”
