Abby Lee Miller has been the host of "Dance Moms" for six years and seven seasons. On Sunday, March 26, she posted on Instagram that she has quit the Lifetime reality show where she taught young children to dance. The reason that the 50-year-old dance teacher is leaving the show has nothing to do with her been involved in a bankruptcy fraud case. Instead, she says she was manipulated and disrespected by producers. She went so far as to saying she was treated like dirt.
Choreographer
Miller is the founder and chief choreographer of the Abby Lee Dance Company.
"Dance Moms" premiered in 2011 on the Lifetime channel. She announced she is quitting the show because she has not gotten creative credit for her ideas, dance routines, themes, and costumes. She claims she has asked, begged and even demanded credit, and she is tired of working under those circumstances.
The reality star added that she loves working with the kids, and she doesn't have a problem with them. She accused the parents, especially, fathers of giving her no respect. Last month, the dance instructor spoke about her frustration on "Entertainment Tonight." Because of the way producers treated her, Miller admitted that she recently defied orders to do what they suggested.
Bankruptcy fraud
Miller is leaving "Dance Moms" in the middle of a bankruptcy fraud case even though these are two separate issues.
The dance instructor is awaiting sentencing for pleading guilty to bankruptcy fraud and failing to report more than $120,000 worth of Australian currency that she brought into the United States. In August 2014, the reality star divided the money among her friends, and they carried it in plastic bags in their luggage. Last January, she agreed to give up the $120,000 in Australian currency.
In October 2015, when Miller filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy, she failed to report her actual income of $775,000 from "Dance Moms," the spin-off show "Abby's Ultimate Dance Competition" and other related projects. She allegedly hid the money in secret bank accounts between 2012 and 2013. Her February 2017 court date was postponed until May 8 when she will be sentenced in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
