Maddie Ziegler has opened up about her experience on Dance Moms during a candid interview with Emily Ratajkowski during the High Low with EmRata podcast.
The now 20-year-old originally starred on six seasons of the Lifetime reality show that followed dancers at Abby Lee Miller’s dance company and their mothers.
But the experience wasn’t without its faults and now, Maddie has revealed that her mother has apologised for putting her through the experience.
“Last year, I was having a really bad panic attack, and I called my mom,” Maddie told Emily. “And things were coming up from the past, and she apologized to me and she was like, ‘I am so sorry that I put you through that.'”
“It’s so sad because she would never want to hurt (my sister Mackenzie and I), but none of us knew how crazy it would get.”
Maddie, who was six when the show debuted, credited her friendship with Sia for giving her the opportunity to leave the series.
“She saved me from the show and everything I was doing,” Maddie said. “(My mom) really did everything to try to break our contract and pull us out, and eventually did with the help of Sia.”
Maddie and her younger sister Kenzie, who also starred on the show, have explored a number of post-show endeavours as they adjusted to life in the public eye. The pair have released albums, acted in films, released clothing labels, modelled and have even released a memoir in the years since their debut on the show.
The sisters previously spoke to E! News about life in the public eye and how they have learned to deal with the negativity.
“Honestly, like, most of the time the people that are commenting those things want to be recognized, you know what I mean?” Kenzie shared.
“There’s been times where someone comments on Maddie’s picture and I comment back to them and I’m like, ‘Don’t ever—she’s the most beautiful person!’ And they’re commenting back, ‘I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to say that.’ So now I’ve learned that none of it matters. They’re probably just doing it because they’re bored. Like, it’s not worth my time.”
“We’ve really tried to just trust our gut and move forward,” Maddie added, “and realise that there’s a lot of Internet trolls and there’s not much you can do about it. And just to, like, live your life and be as happy as you can be.”
Related stories
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
