On Thursday, June 4, Abby Lee Miller took to Instagram and apologized after former Dance Moms star Adriana Smith accused her of being a “racist” towards her and her daughter, Kamryn Smith, in an Instagram post.
“I genuinely understand and deeply regret how my words have [affected] and hurt those around me in the past, particularly those in the Black community,” the 53-year-old choreographer wrote. “To Kamryn, Adriana and anyone else I’ve hurt, I am truly sorry. I realize that racism can not just come from hate, but also from ignorance. No matter the cause, it is harmful, and it is my fault. While I cannot change the past or remove the harm I’ve 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.”
For those who missed it, Adriana spoke out about her experience on Dance Moms Season 8, and recalled a racially intensive remark made by Abby Lee.
“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.’ This my friends is not something or a statement that can be googled. Ask yourself what does that mean? This to me shows that you think you are better than me and in higher rank and all together superior to ME!” the mom wrote on Instagram. “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 need a sprinkle of color!'”
Adriana also addressed her decision to leave the reality show.
“As tears streamed down my face, I look over at my 7-year-old and back at the camera and say, this is my EVERYDAY life as a black woman. This is nothing new to me. But what I’m not going to have happen is have this racist person have any part of my daughter’s life as of this moment,” she explained. “At that moment, I knew that it was more important for me to show my daughter that she had to stand up for what’s right and not care about anything else. But in that interview, my little seven-year-old cried like a GROWN black woman and stood up and said, ‘Mom I understand it’s not right here and I want to go home too….'”
After Abby Lee’s apology went live on Instagram, Adriana reposted it on her own page and added, “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?” she said. “Her failure to appropriately address me and my daughter personally points to the fact that she is disingenuous. My purpose with my original post was to share my story and how it negatively impacted my daughter and it resonated with many others because of the distressing times in our country. At this point, this is bigger than Kamryn and I. It’s about the potential effect that she has on the future of dance and negative, stereotypical influences on young, aspiring dancers of color.”
Adriana concluded, “I firmly believe that if Abby was truly sorry, she would have apologized a year ago when she exposed my then seven-year-old daughter to her FIRST account of racism. So, no, I don’t accept her apology.”
Love J-14? Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel for fun, exclusive videos with your favorite stars.
