A Dance Moms alum has accused her former teacher, Abby Lee Miller, of making racist remarks about her body.
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In her new book, Bottom of the Pyramid: A Memoir of Persevering, Dancing for Myself, and Starring in My Own Life, Nia Sioux reflects on the highs and lows of her time with the Abby Lee Dance Company. Among the “lows” was allegedly enduring racist comments from Miller.
“Abby told me that I needed to fix my hair because it looked awful,” Sioux wrote. “She said – on camera, no less – ‘It’s like a log coming out of the side of her head.'”
The former Dance Moms star also wrote another incident, when Abby Lee Miller asked her, “Don’t you just wish you had White-girl hair?”
“I was taken aback by her question, but I responded, ‘No,'” Sioux shared. “‘Oh really?’ she said. ‘Like you don’t think it would be much easier?’ Again, I told her no. It didn’t matter what she said — I knew I didn’t want to be White. Unlike the other exchange, this one never aired.”
Sioux further claimed that Miller’s comments about her body only got worse as time and the show went on. Another “flaw” body part Miller pointed out was Sioux’s feet.
The infamously critical dance teacher allegedly said at one point, “Black people were physically predisposed to having flat feet.”
“She would say, ‘Well, you know your people have flat feet,'” Nia wrote. “This struck me as ignorant; I know plenty of Black dancers with perfectly arched feet! Yet, despite the fact that she actually believed this ridiculous generalization was true, she’d threaten punishment for my perceived shortcoming. ‘If you don’t point that foot,’ she’d warn, ‘I’m gonna come out there and break it.’”
The Dance Moms Star Accused Abby Lee Miller of Trying to Bribe Her Mentor to Not Work With Her
Elsewhere in her book, Sioux revealed that Abby Lee Miller went so far as to try to bribe her mentor, Aubrey O’Day, with thousands of dollars to not work with her.
Sioux had reached out to the former Danity Kane bandmate at the beginning of her singing career. Upon hearing about the collaboration, Miller reached out to O’Day the bribe in front of her then dance student.
“Once the call connected and I heard the voice on the other end of the line, however, I froze,” Nia recalled. “It was Aubrey. Abby told her that she’d heard we were working together.”
Nia further shared, “She went on to tell Aubrey that my mom wasn’t supposed to contact her behind Abby’s back, that she was my manager, and that she was hurt by my mother using one of her contacts to make an underhanded deal. She then offered Aubrey $10,000 not to work with me.”
Sioux described feeling “crushed” by Miller’s behaviour. Although the incident was aired on Dance Moms, Sioux said the scene was heavily edited to “protect” Miller’s likability on the show.
“The network made it seem like the girls weren’t in the room and the moms were, and they also cut out the part where Abby bribed Aubre,” Nia pointed out. “Since this was so malicious and vindictive, they had to protect their interests. This was the kind of thing that could’ve gotten the show canceled — or at least in really hot water.”
Sioux’s new book is out now.