‘Dance Moms’ Drama: New Coach Gloria Hampton Says Abby Lee Miller is ‘Not Speaking’ To Her
Dance Moms: A New Era premieres today, Wednesday, August 7, on Hulu, and the spinoff series is already creating drama.
Gloria “Miss Glo” Hampton, who serves as the new head coach of the reboot, which focuses on a group of young competition dancers and their moms, spoke with Page Six on Monday (August 5), where she revealed former head coach Abby Lee Miller is no longer speaking to her.
The original Dance Moms premiered on Lifetime in 2011 and centered on Miller and her relationships with the dancers and their mothers. Hampton and her daughter, Kaeli, appeared on Seasons 3 and 4; however, Kaeli was booted off of Miller’s team and competed as a representative from a rival studio – Hampton’s own Studio Bleu Dance Center.
“I met Abby through doing Dance Moms with my daughter… and we did become good friends,” Hampton told Page Six, admitting that she reached out to Miller for advice but didn’t hear anything back. “I’m not sure she wanted to give me advice. She’s not speaking to me at the moment.”
When she initially landed the role as the face of the reboot, Hampton said things seemed to be fine between her and Miller. “She did reach out and congratulate me ,and I thought she was supporting the whole thing,” she explained.
Hampton continued, “And then when I did reach out to try to get together – because we were in Florida at the same time – she just wasn’t very receptive. So I’m not sure where we stand right now, but I think that she feels a type of way. And I understand, but it’s a new show – it’s not her show.”
The award-winning dancer went on to say that she doesn’t believe she did anything to “upset” Miller and hopes that they can eventually patch up any differences in time.
“We’ve been good friends. I’ve been there for her through her illness and vacations and lots of things,” Hampton added, referring to Miller’s 2018 diagnosis with Burkitt lymphoma. “So it makes me sad. But, you know, hopefully she’ll come around.”
Miller led the original Dance Moms until 2019, along with spinoff shows like Abby’s Ultimate Dance Competition, Dance Moms: Miami, and Dance Moms: Abby’s Studio Rescue. The franchise launched the careers of JoJo Siwa, Maddie Ziegler, Chloe Lukasiak, and more.
The new show will see Hampton running things alongside her daughter, Kaeli, who has also appeared on shows such as So You Think You Can Dance and World of Dance. Kaeli is also a professional dancer with the Ballet West company in Salt Lake City, Utah.
“It was different. It was the first time we really worked together,” Hampton said of coaching alongside her daughter. “She has done choreography and taught things in the past, but working together … I had to remind her who was in charge a couple of times.”
Dance Moms: A New Era, Premieres, Wednesday, August 7, Hulu