Hasn’t Dance Moms always been the most delightful show, a lovely little showcase of the incredible talents of the girls who’ve spent to much time and effort perfecting the art of dance?
Ha ha, just kidding — there’s some dancing, of course, but when one thinks of Dance Moms, one thinks of Abby Lee Miller.
And when one thinks of Abby Lee Miller … well, nothing good happens.
For years, the show featured Abby berating young girls and their mothers as she teaches them a variety of dance routines.
It’s usually been about drama just as much as it’s been about dancing.
Things could change now that Abby’s off to prison and Cheryl Burke is stepping in as the head coach, but we’ll have to wait to see.
And Maddie Ziegler, the show’s biggest star, will have to wait to see too — she quit Dance Moms last year.
Things are definitely looking up for her: she’s got two movies coming out this year, and who knows when she could do some more work with Sia.
She’s already an author at just 14 years old, and if all else fails, she’s always got some killer dance moves to fall back on.
But even if her big career plans don’t work out, it sounds like she’s just glad to be done with the nightmare that was Dance Moms.
In a new interview with Seventeen, Maddie says that “The show was a really stressful time.”
It was stressful to watch as an adult, so yeah, we’d imagine being a kid living through it all was considerably worse.
“I just didn’t want to deal with all the drama anymore,” she explains. “I’m happy I moved on. I get to step out and do my own thing and be myself.”
“But I am thankful for the experience, and I miss dancing with the girls.”
If she sounds grounded for a 14-year-old who’s already experienced pretty massive levels of fame, that’s because she is.
“I’m still just a teenager, she says. “I get so caught up in what I’m doing that my friends and family sometimes have to remind me that what I’m doing is cool.”
“I never imagined this.”
While Maddie is obviously very appreciative of all the opportunities she’s had so far, she also unfortunately has to deal with haters.
And nobody likes a hater.
“I try to stay away from online comments,” she admits. “Why should I bother reading something from someone who has nothing better to do than try to make people feel smaller, so they can feel bigger?”
“It’s not OK.”
Doesn’t she just sound like the greatest kid? Like she escaped from the claws of Abby Lee Miller just in the nick of time?
Thank goodness for that.