Abby Lee Miller Regrets Being ‘Harsh’ on Some ‘Dance Moms’ Students

Abby Lee Miller does have regrets about how she treated some of the young dancers she trained throughout her career on Dance Moms. In a preview of her May 2 episode of Hulu’s Impact x Nightline, the 58-year-old reality personality agrees she could have done things differently as a coach when asked by ABC News’ Juju Chang.

Miller said that looking back, she thinks it would have been better to just release the dancers she didn’t think were good enough rather than pushing them harder and harder. “Absolutely. I would,” Miller said when asked if she would “take back some of the harshness” she exhibited towards the kids in her charge. “No matter how harsh I was on the kid, they weren’t going to get it. They just didn’t have the talent. They didn’t have it.”

“I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings, I want to get them to be better and the best that they can be,” Miller continued. The reality personality will have the chance to change with her new spinoff Abby Lee Dance With Me, which will follow Lee’s hunt throughout the U.S. looking for the next generation of champion dancers.

“It was a cultural phenomenon that captured the attention of millions of viewers around the world,” Abby began in a voiceover in the clip shared on Instagram. “Hundreds of dancers from across the United States competed in pursuit of their dreams, and only one woman made their dreams a reality. Now, 12 years later after it all began, I’m back and better than ever.” The series has yet to announce a premiere date.

Miller’s Nightline interview and show announcement came just shortly after the release of the Dance Moms: The Reunion special on Lifetime, which reunited JoJo Siwa, Kendall Vertes, Brooke and Paige Hyland, Chloe Lukasiak and Kalani Hilliker as well as their moms. 

During the reunion, Lukasiak said she felt like she “wasn’t enough like in every single way” due to the rivalry Lee created between her and Maddie Ziegler. “It wasn’t until about a year ago, I realized the way I felt about myself were her words still lingering with me,” she said. “10 years later, I realized that’s not who I am. That’s not my truth. She doesn’t define me anymore. She doesn’t keep that power over me and I started to heal.”

Siwa, however, admitted that she had no problem with the way Lee coached them. “This is gonna be a little controversial to say I think but – to me, Abby was always right,” the “Karma” singer said. “I did interrupt two adults talking, if I was a mess and a beat off, she wasn’t just yelling at me because you want to yell at me. I actually was a mess and was a beat off. One thing that I’ve learned really working and staying in Hollywood is that – that’s normal. And it’s like, it’s scary that that’s normal but that taught me how to survive in the industry. I mean it truly is so tough.”