Exclusive Interview
‘Dance Moms’ Stars Camryn & Camille Bridges Think Abby Lee Miller’s Apology Is ‘Total BS’
Camille Bridges and her daughter Camryn were critical of Abby Lee Miller’s apology for past racist comments to other cast members, saying she has yet to address them directly.
UPDATE 6/6 10:00am EST: Lifetime has canceled its plans to air Abby’s Virtual Dance Off after multiple racism accusations were made per Entertainment Weekly. A premiere date was never announced for the series however it was supposed to start airing this summer. Camille told HollywoodLIfe EXCLUSIVELY this about the news: “Hopefully she’ll learn her lesson, but she shouldn’t be working with kids especially those of color.”
Mother-daughter duo Camille and Camryn Bridges are speaking out about Dance Moms star Abby Lee Miller‘s apology for past racist remarks. “I think it’s total BS. She didn’t issue one to us! She issued one to everybody else,” Camryn, 18, told HL EXCLUSIVELY, making reference to Abby’s recent apology to Adriana Smith. “The only reason she issued one to begin with is I told Adriana [Smith] to post that post and look how it did…I think she’s upset that it got as much attention as it did and she’s kind of trying to make a couple of people happy with a BS apology,” she said.
“She’s had years to issue an apology. We have been calling her out for I don’t know how long,” Camille echoed. “The only reason why her and another million other people are saying a darn thing right now is because of the climate that the country is in right now and everybody is on racial awareness right now. She’s had years to change. She has not once asked to sit down with us and ask how things could get better. Not once has she shown any remorse in her racism and the only reason why she is now is because her post went viral,” she said.
The duo went on to detail some of their experiences with Abby Lee, 53. “I was in rehearsal for one of my first solos. It was called ‘Queen Bee’…It was the first time that I had one on one time with her and she told me, she said, ‘Oh you have thick thighs, but I guess that’s OK because Beyonce’ has thick thighs, girls like that’,” Camille remembered. “So she’s fat shaming me and I was literally skinny. I don’t know why and I don’t know what Beyonce had to do with any of it….There were just comments that she always wanted to put me down and somehow throw something that had to do with black people or blackness for no reason,” she added.
Camryn agreed, noting that Abby “definitely” gave preferential treatment to her white dancers. “She put me in the back before and she told me, she said, ‘I brought you here to light a fire under Nia [Sioux, another African American cast member]’s butt. I want them gone,'” the St. Louis, Missouri native explained. “That’s all [Abby and the show] ever tried to do was make us look dumb,” added Camille.
Although the teen — who is a graduating high school senior this year — feels it’s “too late” for an apology for Abby, she admitted she would be “mature” and accept a call. “She’s had 3 years and if she called me right now I would know that it’s completely just because she’s being attacked right now and that’s the only reason because she wants to clear her name and that doesn’t sit right with me,” Camryn added.
Camryn and Camille’s comments come hot off the heels of Abby’s emotional apology to season eight mom Adriana Smith and her 7-year-old daughter Kamryn. Adriana alleged that Kamryn had heard Abby say that Adriana was from “the hood,” and that Kamryn was on the dance squad as they needed a “sprinkle of color.” Abby wrote, “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. To Kamryn, Adriana and anyone else I’ve hurt, I am truly sorry.”
