‘Dance Moms’ Cheryl Burke Claims Girls Were ‘Traumatized’ By Abby Lee Miller

It’s no secret that after Dance Moms’ Abby Lee Miller left the show with a caustic Instagram post during the middle of filming for Season 7B, many of the original members of her Junior Elite team were fairly relieved. However, their new coach, Dancing with the Stars’ Cheryl Burke claims it is because the girls had been traumatized over time by Abby’s treatment of them and their mothers.

The dance star returned to her roots and performed in an exhibition performance of Dancing with the Stars where afterward, she talked Dance Momswith the press and dished on the girls she’s been coaching.

“It’s going great. The girls are so precious and I feel like they’re traumatized from what has happened with Abby and it’s important for me to still be strict and do what I do and I expect nothing but the best from the girls but it’s also important for me to make them feel confident about themselves because they’re all beautiful, they’re all talented.

“They all want to move on and do other things and it’s important that they all have the right head on their shoulders and they don’t ever walk in a room with their head down, feeling like they aren’t good enough.”

Burke also shared her opinions on Dance Moms’ Abby Lee Miller’s teaching style and whether or not she’s run into her before in the dance world.

“I ran into her a couple of times before I even knew I was doing the [Dance Moms] show but I don’t agree with her teaching methods. I don’t. I mean, I’m strict. I say it how it is as you’ve seen me on Dancing with the Stars but I was just being myself and I think within that that caused a lot of drama between the moms and the girls and with me,” Burke said.

“You live in this bubble and these girls are not yet ready for the real world and that’s what I’m scared of—that they have been pushed down to the floor so much that they’ll never be independent,” she said.

Burke said she wouldn’t comment on Abby’s sentencing.

Abby Lee Miller, however, quit Dance Moms after tirade on Instagram where she indicted the producers, stating that they often butted their heads in when they had no business doing so and acted incredibly misogynistic. She even blamed them for “keeping her fat,” stating that she had tried to be vegan but that they wouldn’t provide her vegan options when filming on set.

According to Abby Lee Miller, none of the original Dance Moms girls reached out to her following her prison sentence, and neither did anyone at the production company. However, after the way she has treated many of them, several fans are wondering why they would reach out to her. Instead, a few of the newer cast members from Dance Moms have reached out to Abby or dedicated social media posts to her stating how sorry they are to hear about her sentence.

It is unclear whether or not Dance Moms will be continuing with Cheryl Burke in the role of the coach. Last month, the members of the Junior Elite team posted photos of themselves crying and looking downtrodden, declaring themselves the “Irreplaceables” and writing heartfelt messages on social media about their experience.

However, producer Bryan Stinson announced via Twitter that there would be a Season 8 and it has leaked that some cast members have said they have been asked back, though none of the Junior Elite team.

Quite possibly, Dance Moms will continue with an entirely new cast.

[Featured Image by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images]