In a statement released following the allegations, the reality TV star acknowledges that her remarks have 'effected and hurt those around me in the past,' and hopes 'to one day earn your forgiveness.'
- Jun 5, 2020
AceShowbiz - Abby Lee Miller is another celebrity to have been accused of being a racist while showing her support for the Black Lives Matter movement. Several former "Dance Moms" stars came up with the allegations against the dance instructor after she posted a now-deleted blackout square on Instagram in honor of Blackout Tuesday earlier this week.
Responding to Abby's show of solidarity to the protests in the wake of George Floyd's death, Adriana Smith, whose daughter Kamryn starred in season 8 of "Dance Moms", pointed out the hypocrisy in Abby's behavior. She wrote, "#DONTACTLIKEYOUCARE" and "NOPE," over a screenshot of the dance coach's post.
In the caption, she detailed her and her daughter's experience with Abby. "A statement from her that sticks in my mind to this day during my time on DMS8 is 'I know you grew up in the HOOD with only a box of 8 crayons, but I grew up in the Country Club with a box of 64 - don't be stupid," Adriana wrote. "This to me shows that you think you are better than me and in higher rank and all together superior to ME! This to me shows that you don't give a f**k about me or where I came from."
Adriana also claimed that Abby used her daughter Kamryn as a token because of her skin color. "Do you remember you told me, 'Do you want me to tell you why you are really here?' lol as if I didn't know," she recalled. "Let me remind you what you said in case you forgot! You told me to 'LOOK in the MIRROR! That's the only reason you are here!' Kam told me she heard 'they needed a sprinkle of color!' "
Adriana said Abby's behavior led to her decision to pull her daughter out of the show. "What I'm not going to have happen is have this racist person have any part of my daughters life as of this moment," she said. "I knew that it was more important for me to show my daughter that she has to stand up for what's right and not care about anything else. But in that interview my little 7 year old cried like a GROWN Black woman, and she stood up and said, 'Mom I understand and it's not right and I want to go home too.' "
In the end of her statement, Adriana said that "people need to be held accountable not just for the injustices [but also] for being a closet racist."
A second mom, Camille Bridges, shared a similar story about her daughter Camryn's experience with Abby. "[Abby] tried to spin Camryn as being the poor one and there on scholarship. I shut that down immediately," she told E! News. "She loves appropriating our culture and never appreciating it. She did not give black choreographers on the show acknowledgment of their work. She continuously put Camryn in afros."
"We were so relieved when she was gone especially when we thought she wasn't coming back," Camille said about Abby's temporary absence from the show when she was serving her prison time for bankruptcy fraud. "When she returned, I looked at Camryn and told her we're leaving. I didn't care anymore about the ‘platform.' I was done."
She went on calling out the 54-year-old reality TV star, "The woman is a mess. She is incredibly two-faced. She would say the most terrible things on camera, then tell Camryn how she was better than the girls on the team, mainly the ones she trained. It was a traumatic experience that I wish on no one."
Following the allegations, Abby later issued an apology through her Twitter page on Thursday. "I genuinely understand and deeply regret how my words have effected and hurt those around me in the past, particularly those in the Black community. To Kamryn, Adriana, and anyone else I've hurt, I am truly sorry," she wrote.
"I realize that racism can come not just from hate, but also from ignorance. No matter the cause, it is harmful, and it is my fault," she added. "While I cannot change the past or remove the harm I have done, I promise to educate myself, learn, grow, and do better. While I hope to one day earn your forgiveness, I recognize that words alone are not enough. I understand it takes time and genuine change."
