Abby Lee Miller accuses former students of being ‘ungrateful’ after ‘toxic’ allegations

Abby Lee Miller has responded to allegations that Dance Moms was a toxic environment for the young girls on the show.

Speaking with Los Angeles news station KTLA, Miller said that former students claiming the Abby Lee Dance Company was toxic are simply “ungrateful”.

“They would not be where they are today without the show. And someone should learn to say thank you,” she said.

“I think they’re just very ungrateful.”

Miller claimed that even with the show aside, she still believes that she herself had a major hand to play in the success of some of her former students.

“I have a lot of successful students. I have a kid on Broadway, another director, producer, choreographer on Broadway,” she said.

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“I have kids that are out there working in the industry constantly... There are so many names I could just roll through.”

She added that while many of her former students have spoken out against the conditions under which they found themselves at Abby Lee Dance Company, she admitted that there are others she believes who do acknowledge what she did for them.

“They got their education at the Abby Lee Dance Company in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and they are grateful, and they are proud,” she said.

“And if their parents would have sent them to any other studio in town, they would not be where they are today.

“And I don’t think the girls have really put that together yet. Maybe someday they will.”

With over 200 episodes produced, Dance Moms ran for eight seasons from 2011 to 2019.

Several of the girls from the show have spoken out since it ended, saying they experienced trauma, both emotional and physical, working with Miller on the show.

Many of the former cast members have said they no longer have any contact with Miller; however, they are grateful for the opportunities she gave them.

A two-hour Dance Moms reunion special aired in 2024, with several original stars returning, including Chloe Lukasiak and JoJo Siwa. Miller was absent from the special.

At the time, a source told People that several girls had requested Miller’s absence so that they could “speak their minds more openly.”

“At this point, everyone has gone through different eras, had time to reflect and there’s been a lot that Abby put them through emotionally and physically and they just didn’t want to relive that,” the source said.