Maddie Ziegler is mature far beyond her years. The teenager has lived a lifetime on TV, since joining Dance Moms as a child. Maddie left the show this season and is thrilled to have put reality TV behind.”Now, I feel like I’m so free,” the 15-year-old exclaims.
While filming the never-ending season 6, Maddie made the decision to quit Dance Moms and finally be independent from the clutches of Abby Lee Miller. The breakout star of the show, with Hollywood and Sia calling, the show became more pain than pleasure. It was a “hard decision,” to make but now Maddie is relieved to have more control over her career and her life. “It was getting too stressful,” she explains. “I feel like I had so much more pressure on me to be the best in the room.”
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In fact, rumor has it one reason Abby decided to open an ALDC studio in LA was to keep up with Maddie’s career and her desire to broaden her career.
Maddie doesn’t fault Abby for applying that pressure, and defends her teacher, although she does admit it wasn’t easy to handle the high expectations. Plus, being Abby’s obsession obvious favorite made her a target on social media.
Maddie describes Abby as “exactly how she is on the show.” Adding, “But the thing that I like about her most is she can actually be funny sometimes. And she wanted me to be good. “
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Part of Abby’s constant devotion to Maddie led to a lot of criticism from viewers on social media, which was frustrating. “I would be like, ‘Why are they mad at me?'” she tells Seventeen.
Wanting some privacy and reprieve majorly factored into Maddie’s decision to leave Dance Moms. “I’ve come to realize now that people just do it because they want attention,” she dismisses. Yet, she still doesn’t understand why people take the show so personally. “One person would be hating on me, and then another girl would get into a fight with her on my page!” she shares. “I’m just like, What the heck? Why do people do this?”
With reality TV behind her (although she may still make occasional Dance Moms appearances) Maddie is moving forward with her dreams of being an actress, and she majorly admires Jennifer Lawrence. She recently wrapped her first major Hollywood motion picture, The Book Of Henry, which co-stars Naomi Watts and Sarah Silverman and will hit theaters in September.
TELL US – DO YOU THINK IT WAS A GOOD THING MADDIE LEFT DANCE MOMS? DOES ABBY PLACE TOO MUCH PRESSURE ON HER?
[Photo Credit: Seventeen]
