‘Dance Moms’ Star Abby Lee Miller Is Ready to Step In as ‘Dancing With the Stars’ Judge
Abby Lee Miller is waiting for her call.
The controversial Dance Moms star says she would “absolutely” return as a judge on Dancing With the Stars if asked. The TV personality and ex-felon was a guest judge on the long-running competition series in 2014.
Abby Lee Miller says ‘constrictive’ contract kept her from being a full-time ‘Dancing With the Stars’ judge
During her reality TV heyday, Miller was approached about judging Dancing With the Stars, she recently revealed.
“They wanted me to do the show,” Miller told Us Weekly at Dancers Against Cancer’s 2025 Gala of the Stars event on October 21. “Three years [in a row] they asked me, and my contract with the other network didn’t allow it, so I did a guest spot because I was only allowed to be on another network every 13 episodes of my show. It was very constrictive, unfortunately. So there you go.”
At the time, Miller’s deal with Lifetime limited her other TV opportunities. But her stint on Dance Moms ended in 2019. In 2020, she was supposed to star in a new reality series for Lifetime, Abby’s Virtual Dance Off. But that show was pulled from the schedule after former Dance Moms dancers accused her of racism. Since then, she’s launched a new series, Abby Lee Dance With Me, which streams on YouTube. But she wouldn’t say no to the biggest dance-focused show of all. And she thinks she could bring something unique to the table.
“I would’ve liked to stay,” Miller told Us Weekly. “When I judged, it was right when they brought lyric and contemporary [dances] in, and so Deena Katz, the producer, wanted somebody [where] that was their field, their ballpark, and it’s still happening. So I think I should be [back]. Deena, if you’re listening.”
Cheryl Burke weighs in on judging ‘DWTS’
The current Dancing With the Stars judges are Derek Hough, Bruno Tonioli, and Carrie Ann Inaba. How would Miller fit in with that mix? It’s hard to say, but having judges with a range of expertise and experience is helpful, former DWTS pro Cheryl Burke said.
“Clearly the judges have the job,” Burke, who is serving as a guest judge in season 34, told Deadline. “They’re doing the job, and I think they all bring something different to the show. We’ve always known that Carrie Ann and Bruno don’t come from a ballroom background. However, they do bring something different that none of we ballroom experts can bring.”
If Miller did ever sign on as a DWTS judge, she might have to temper her infamously caustic criticism. During her guest judge appearance more than a decade ago, her comments rubbed some of the show’s pros the wrong way. Several were also critical of her “tough love” approach to working with young dancers.
“I really don’t care for anything that she has to say,” Maksim Chmerkovskiy told host Erin Andrews (via The Hollywood Reporter).
“The way she treats her children, the way she teaches them — she’s not molding anybody into a star; she’s not teaching anybody to harness any creativity; she’s trying to make good TV,” pro Shana Burgess said. “What she is doing to those kids now at this age is going to affect them for the rest of their lives.”
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