Abby Lee Miller's time on Lifetime may be at an end. The reality TV personality and dance instructor starred on Lifetime's Dance Moms for most of eight seasons, and was successful enough that the network ordered a spinoff series despite some legal woes, called Dance Moms: Abby's Virtual Dance Off. The show was set to premiere in mere weeks, but now Lifetime has cancelled it before it could even premiere following accusations of racist remarks from the mother of one of Miller's former students.
Dance Moms: Abby's Virtual Dance Off was slated to run for 12 episodes as a Dance Moms spinoff that could be produced remotely, but EW reports that the show has been cancelled by Lifetime after the accusations that Abby Lee Miller made racist remarks to and about former Dance Moms contestant Adriana Smith. The show had been scheduled to premiere on Tuesday, June 30 at 8 p.m. ET on the network.
In a video hyping the show and asking for submissions, Abby Lee Miller (who served time for some of her actions regarding Dance Moms income) said that she was looking for "an Abby dancer" and would be the judge herself, with "no moms, no producers, just" her. Considering Abby's Virtual Dance Off was poised to heavily rely on Miller herself, Lifetime's decision to cancel in the wake of the accusations against Miller isn't altogether surprising.
Given that Abby Lee Miller reportedly wouldn't be returning to Dance Moms even if Lifetime renewed it for a ninth season, the cancellation of Abby's Virtual Dance Off could indeed be the end of her time at the network. The accusations of racism from Adriana Smith were prompted by Miller choosing to post on Instagram in protest of racism and police brutality. Smith responded with a post of her own, stating that Miller had directed racist remarks at both herself and her young daughter, Kamryn Smith.
Abby Lee Miller responded to Adriana Smith's post by stating that she came to "deeply regret" how her words affected Smith and her daughter, and she is "truly sorry" and one day hoped to "earn" their forgiveness. Adriana Smith didn't mince words in her response to Miller's apology, posting this on Instagram:
At this time, I do not accept Abby’s apology because her apology was not sincere. My daughter and I have yet to hear directly from Abby Lee Miller. Moreover, she didn’t even bother to tag me or Kamryn in her post. How else would we know she apologized? My friends and peers informed me of the apology. How sincere could it be?! What happened to a phone call or at least a personal direct message?
As for Lifetime, at the time of writing the network hasn't responded on social media to Adriana Smith's accusations, Abby Lee Miller's response, and the decision to cancel Abby's Virtual Dance Off. Only time will tell if and how this situation and the spinoff cancellation will impact the future of Dance Moms, which has yet to be renewed for Season 9 or officially cancelled despite Season 8 wrapping back in September 2019.
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