Getty The cast of "Dance Moms."
Reality television is a staple of American television and yet most people still wonder how it actually works. Are the events real or scripted? Do reality TV stars get paid? And how much?
The infamous coach of “Dance Moms“, Abby Lee Miller, shed some light on how much she and her young dance protogees got paid for appearing on the show. Us Weekly reports that in 2015, Miller revealed that the dancers earned $1,000 an episode for the first four seasons and $2,000 an episode during season five. She herself was earning $1,500 an episode.
“Dance Moms” ran for eight seasons so it’s possible that salaries increased again after season five. It’s also unclear how many hours of filming add up to one episode. In a recent interview with E News, “Dance Moms” alum Asia Monet Ray revealed that the cast would sometimes wear the same clothes for an entire week to make it look like events happened on the same day.
“Certain things that were on the show were obviously creative editing of just making certain pieces splice together. We had to wear the same clothes for like a week. So certain things could be taken out of context,” she told the outlet.
Who Is the Richest ‘Dance Moms’ Alum?
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Jojo Siwa is the richest “Dance Moms” alum with a net worth of $14 million. Siwa has over twelve million YouTube subscribers. She also has her own merchandise line including clothing, toys, and her signature bows available at Wal-Mart.
Siwa also earns money from performing. She has a D.R.E.A.M. tour affiliated with Nickeloden coming up in 2022. According to Celebrity Net Worth, Siwa purchased a $3.5 million home in a Los Angeles suburb in 2020, when she was just sixteen years old.
Miller Filled for Bankruptcy and Served Jail Time
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Siwa’s former dance coach, Abby Lee Miller, is worth $2 million. Miller filed for bankruptcy in 2010 which she later told People she regrets. “I declared bankruptcy, and that was the worst thing I ever should have done,” Miller told the outlet.
In 2017, Miller was sentenced to a year in prison for twenty counts of fraud including concealment of bankruptcy assets. People reports that Miller was accused of having her friends carry $120,000 worth of secret cash in luggage, among other things.
Miller Was Accused of Racism on “Dance Moms”
In 2020, Lifetime severed all ties with Miller after former “Dance Moms” alums accused her of making racist remarks. It all began when Miller posted a black square on Instagram to show solidarity with the June 2020 Black Lives Matter protests. The post prompted Adriana Smith, whose daughter Kamryn was a dancer on “Dance Moms”, to call Miller out for hypocrisy.
Entertainment Weekly reports that in a now-deleted Instagram post, Smith wrote, “Don’t act like you care. I couldn’t think of a more perfect day to address my experience with Abby Lee Miller. Wanna know the truth? Wanna know my TRUTH? … A statement from her that sticks in my mind to this day during my time on DMS8 is ‘I know you grew up in the HOOD with only a box of 8 crayons, but I grew up in the Country Club with a box of 64 – don’t be stupid.”
Miller issued an apology on Twitter but Smith retorted with a statement to Entertainment Weekly.
“At this point, this is bigger than me and Kamryn. It’s about the potential effect that she has on the future of dance and negative, stereotypical influences on young, aspiring dancers of color. I firmly believe that if Abby was truly sorry, she would have apologized a year ago when she exposed my then 7-year-old daughter to her first account of racism,” Smith told the outlet.
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