S06.E28: JoJo Is a No Show

[OnceSane]

Quote

Abby choreographs an emotional dance after the ALDC learns of tragic news from Kira and Kalani's hometown; the minis attempt to make a comeback with their group number; JoJo is tested beyond her limits by a difficult ballet duet.

[Rylee]

I probably shouldn't be making this observation because honestly, I haven't been all that interested in this show lately, in fact, I missed the last 3 or 4 weeks and when I tried to watch the reruns, the show barely held my interest, but I thought this episode was much more enjoyable to watch than recent weeks. Perhaps the most enjoyable of the season.

There was far less screaming, bitching, nasty banter and fewer ridiculous statements in this episode than I've seen in a long time.

Abby conducted herself like an actual teacher.

And bonus... I liked the dances, (compared to what they've been doing lately.)

The only mother that sounded absolutely ludicrous was Jessalynn, AGAIN.  Talk of, "pop star, the next big thing, superstar, her brand, and Kardashians," PUH-LEEZE! Really? Do mother's even aspire for their daughter's to be like the Kardashian girls?

I realize JoJo is a child, but her talking head... bad, just bad. Overuse of the word, "really" like some 80's valley girl, when she can't even pronounce her "R's" correctly, and telling us her feet and technique are good, but not perfect... Oh dear.

I don't know the real reason JoJo and Jess skipped out, but what about being a team player? Wasn't Jess recently preaching to the mini mothers about being a team?

[RedFire2000]

Hallelujah! Mean girl Jessalyn and JoJo and her stupid bow bows are finally gone. I couldn't stand them on Abby's Ultimate Dance competition and I didn't like them on Dance Moms. They both were obnoxious and full of themselves. And JoJo was the worst dancer on the team. Jessalyn is so delusional on JoJo's talent. The next big thing??? Please....

I agree, this is the first episode this season that was actually enjoyable to watch. I think the show will be less stressful and enjoyable again now that big mouth bully Jessalyn is gone. She was always running her mouth, causing drama and making the atmosphere feel so negative and toxic.

I'm finally glad that someone (thank you Ashlee) has said it Jessalyn is a BULLY. I find it funny how Jessalyn harassed and bullied Brynn and called her a baby when she stressing out about her duet, but here's JoJo crying and throwing a tantrum about her ballet duet and calling it stupid and that's okay? Double standards much?

This was their best elite group dance in a long time. The elites need to do more dances with effort and creativity like Hotline instead of garbage like last week's horrible Mind Craft dance. Also, can somebody please get Kendall acting classes. Her face when she picks up the phone at the end is just blank - no look of anguish, or sorrow. Just completely blank. 

The reason the original team of girls worked well together was because they known and dance together with each other for years prior to the show. The minis were randomly thrown together and have had team members come on and off the team constantly.

Edited October 23, 2016 by MoonWalker

[spanana]

Jill should be happy Jojo/Jess left.  I'll give Kendall credit that she tried and didn't whine, from what we saw, but Kalani carried that ballet duet.  Kalani performing with Kendall is the only way Kendall is going to win anything, so yes Jill, no wonder you want Kalani as Kendall's regular duet partner.  It's the same reason why Kendall could only perform duets with Maddie previously and threw tantrums when she got paired up with anyone else.

I really liked the group dance and thought they all did well, but Kalani is stunning.  It's hard to take your eyes off of her.  She has such a lovely poise and elegance about her as a dancer.

I don't know what I thought of the Brynn/Nia duet but I liked that it actually seemed like a duet with a lot of interaction between the two.  A lot of the times the duets are two solos shoved on to the stage.

Edited October 19, 2016 by spanana

[Lamima]

I hope Jess and Bow-bow stay gone. Cannot stand Jess. She is such a pot stirer. My girls never danced and I never danced so I don't know much about it but are Kendell's feet supposed to be duck like and flopped out like that? They stand out to me. 

[BusyOctober]

Although it's tragic, I can understand why someone in JoJo's generation aspires to have a "career" like any of the KarTRASHian Klan.  But for a 40-something parent to want her kid to emulate those no talent vapid fame-whores is beyond my understanding. There are so many other young successful people to use as role models.  Jess's delusional obsession with making her kid "famous" makes Melissa and all her shade and ass-kissing look sane and rational. 

I don't follow any of these kids or moms on social media, so I don't know their influence on their "fans". But JoJo's "platform" (really???) is anti bullying? From her sea cow mother's behavior I would expect JoJo to be giving YouTube tutorials on making other kids cry.  Is Jess really gone for good?  Or will she fly in on her broomstick in the next episode? 

These dances with a purpose are interesting and I think telling a story to inform is a good thing. But performing to a 1/4 capacity audience in fake competitions is not going to have the impact that Jill seems to think.  And what was with repeating how "we can't afford to lose one more dancer"?  She should have said "child" or "teen" or "person".  I know a young dancer from AZ was the impetus for this dance, but there are more than just dancers watching.

Someone other than the Mini Moms should do their kids' makeup for performances. The kids didn't match/coordinate and it looked really messy.  It's obvious from looking at the Mini Moms that they do not know how to apply their own makeup with a deft hand.  A couple of them are taking the trend of contouring WAY too overboard.  Put down the 40 piece brush collection you bought at Claire's.  Stop watching the teens and 20-something YouTuber's makeup tutorials.  Find some turpentine to strip your face down to it's original layer.  I think Jill and Jess are heavy handed with their make up too, but they don't look as garish/clownish when compared to the Mini Moms.

[dmmetler]

I know between Nia and Brynn the casting made sense, but just once, I'd like to see Nia be the pretty, feminine one in a duet or trio. The girl always gets stuck playing the strong, more masculine figure, and she really is a pretty girl-she's just not a tiny one. 

Kalani carries everything she's in. 

[hellohoping]

2 hours ago, BusyOctober said:

But performing to a 1/4 capacity audience in fake competitions is not going to have the impact that Jill seems to think. 

To be fair, they're performing to the 900,000 tv viewers and subsequent thousands of viewers online, so not just 1/4 of a competition audience. I thought the dance was very moving.

I'm glad Kalani is getting more air time and opportunities now. She seems a lovely girl and is a beautiful dancer.

Kendall was actually much more bearable in this episode, on account of embracing the ballet duet and getting on with it, so JoJo did her a favour there.

As for JoJo... where to start?! The Kardashian dreams and quitting on the spot because of a ballet duet (supposedly) would be bad enough, but when we look back on everything Jess has said with her constant harassing of Abby for more technique classes, her picking on Brynn for crying and her constant spiel about how "JoJo will do anything!!!" in comparison to other kids... it's really embarrassing. How is QUITTING because of your own terrible technique helping JoJo's "brand" then? The brand would have been far better helped by JoJo taking it on the chin and doing it, a quality she previously prided herself on.

Oh well. Bye JoJo. None of the girls or their mums seemed all that bothered either.

[RedheadZombie]

Jess hopes JoJo becomes Kim Kardashian?  That may be the worst thing I've heard on this show.  Has Jess researched how KK became famous?  I hope she waits until JoJo is eighteen before filming and selling a sex tape.

[RedheadZombie]

l have no idea if Jess and JoJo are going to return, but I definitely had the sense that the other moms were egging Ashley on in criticizing Jess.  Which made me think they were going to enjoy running to Jess to tattle, and sit back and giggle as Jess attacks Ashley.

3 hours ago, BusyOctober said:

I don't follow any of these kids or moms on social media, so I don't know their influence on their "fans". But JoJo's "platform" (really???) is anti bullying? From her sea cow mother's behavior I would expect JoJo to be giving YouTube tutorials on making other kids cry.  Is Jess really gone for good?  Or will she fly in on her broomstick in the next episode? 

I don't have a problem with JoJo addressing bullying.  I have no doubt she's been bullied a lot.  Her mom's been bleaching her hair since she was two.  Jess does nothing to address JoJo's speech impediment.  And we've seen the other girls (minus Nia?) mocking JoJo's speech impediment - and JoJo saw it, too.  I think that's why she has an easier time letting criticism roll off her back.

[Loves2Dance]

I'm not sad to see Jess gone; Jojo was fine, but Jess was horrible.

Also, did anyone catch that the two 'groups' who came up to the stage where in ALDC duds to get 2nd and 3rd for teen groups? Was it an Abby only competition? I know they're rigged and fake and scripted, but try harder? 

[pbutler111]

16 hours ago, Rylee said:

I probably shouldn't be making this observation because honestly, I haven't been all that interested in this show lately, in fact, I missed the last 3 or 4 weeks and when I tried to watch the reruns, the show barely held my interest, but I thought this episode was much more enjoyable to watch than recent weeks. Perhaps the most enjoyable of the season.

There was far less screaming, bitching, nasty banter and fewer ridiculous statements in this episode than I've seen in a long time.

Abby conducted herself like an actual teacher.

And bonus... I liked the dances, (compared to what they've been doing lately.)

The only mother that sounded absolutely ludicrous was Jessalynn, AGAIN.  Talk of, "pop star, the next big thing, superstar, her brand, and Kardashians," PUH-LEEZE! Really? Do mother's even aspire for their daughter's to be like the Kardashian girls?

I realize JoJo is a child, but her talking head... bad, just bad. Overuse of the word, "really" like some 80's valley girl, when she can't even pronounce her "R's" correctly, and telling us her feet and technique are good, but not perfect... Oh dear.

I don't know the real reason JoJo and Jess skipped out, but what about being a team player? Wasn't Jess recently preaching to the mini mothers about being a team?

I couldn't believe it when Jess stated -- and with such great pride! -- that Jo Jo wants to be the next Kim Kardashian!  The first Kim Kardashian is totally useless, so why in the world would you encourage your talented daughter to aspire to be just like her?  That's really disturbing.

[Rlb8031]

24 minutes ago, Loves2Dance said:

I'm not sad to see Jess gone; Jojo was fine, but Jess was horrible.

Also, did anyone catch that the two 'groups' who came up to the stage where in ALDC duds to get 2nd and 3rd for teen groups? Was it an Abby only competition? I know they're rigged and fake and scripted, but try harder? 

I noticed the same thing in last season's show. There were non-credited unmentioned teams from ALDC performing at the same competitions (probably to increase the number of participants). Clearly they mention these things when they want to and ignore them when convenient - much like the mini-team's 1st place finish two weeks ago which Abby pointed last week meant nothing because "you were the only mini team competing"

Edited October 19, 2016 by Rlb8031

[Loves2Dance]

So I ventured over to Jojo's twitter account to see if any comments were made, after looking at Jess's and seeing nothing, and WOW. All I have to say is someone needs to monitor that better---it was almost minute by minute and while Jojo may have had some legit things to say, it came off poorly for the image and branding she so desires. 

[Absolom]

Ratings:  832K viewers and a .27 rating. 

The end of this season will let us know how desperate for viewers Lifetime is it seems.

[spanana]

6 hours ago, Loves2Dance said:

So I ventured over to Jojo's twitter account to see if any comments were made, after looking at Jess's and seeing nothing, and WOW. All I have to say is someone needs to monitor that better---it was almost minute by minute and while Jojo may have had some legit things to say, it came off poorly for the image and branding she so desires. 

That was um, well, interesting.  I've never particularly had a problem with Jojo and it used to come off like she had a good attitude, but she's being a snot on twitter.  Now I know this show is scripted to a degree and they create whatever storylines they want, but it seems like Jojo is trying to claim she didn't leave because of the ballet dance.  And that the whole dance was re-choreographed after her departure to be less ballet, so of course she could do that simple dance and blah blah blah. Also she keeps saying that the show will be boring without her and Jess.  Okay then delusional people.

Now we all know Jess isn't exactly going to reign Jojo in, but what is particularly not cool about her tweets is she's being antagonistic towards the other girls on the team to a degree.  Getting digs in at the suicide dance and how it's no Last Text number and etc.  Even if you dislike Abby and the other moms, I don't remember any of the girls saying anything negative about Jojo during the episode.  So why are you being a brat to your former teammates?

[WildFlower87]

JoJo's tweets not only come off not only poorly but conceited and egotistical.

The show will be boring without her and mother? Wonders if next weeks episode will be boring? Delusional much? No, honey the show will be less painful and more enjoyable now that your loud mouth bully of a mother is gone. 

Getting digs in at Hotline saying wasn't all that and didn't come close to The Last Text?  Hotline is the  best group dance the girls have done in a LONG time and JoJo's absence was not even noticeable or even missed.

Trying to claim she didn't leave because of the ballet dance. And that the whole dance was re-choreographed after her departure to be less ballet.

I'm honestly here just to watch the mini dance. You don't want to see your former teammates perform this important dance. Why so rude and bratty towards the other girls, they didn't do anything to you?

This kid and her mother are rude, full of themselves, and delusional. Bye Bye! You won't be missed!

[Chewy101]

On 10/18/2016 at 10:45 PM, Rylee said:

There was far less screaming, bitching, nasty banter and fewer ridiculous statements in this episode than I've seen in a long time.

That would be because Jess wasn't there.

LOVED how the clips showed what a raging hypocrite Jess has always been when she is threatened and starts pointing fingers. 

I think her terrible parenting was summed up when she said she wants JoJo to be famous and the next Kim Kardashian. Not a professional dancer or even a talent, but famous for making a sex tape. THAT is who she wants her daughter to be? All of these moms should be ashamed for wanting to exploit their kids so badly. All of them are obsessed with branding and fame instead of talent and actual employment.

[Chewy101]

On 10/19/2016 at 0:39 AM, spanana said:

Kalani is stunning.  It's hard to take your eyes off of her.  She has such a lovely poise and elegance about her as a dancer.

I think she is the only one still taking technique classes.

[Chewy101]

Jill saying they shelter their kids made me laugh. These moms whore their kids out to social media and expose them to more scrutiny and bullying than any other mom could.

[gardendiva]

Jojo used to be my favorite. The kid who would gamely sign up for any wierd costume, any wierd character, and do it without complaint. She always seemed to be willing to do whatever was called for, and never seemed to get sassy or mouthy when Abby critiqued her.

I get it that ballet was out of her comfort zone, but what did she think she was accomplishing by walking off and leaving Kendall high and dry? Did she actually think that there wouldn't be blowback for such an extreme move?

She needs this show more than this show needs her. And if she thinks that she is going to get filthy rich by doing nothing more than posting duckface selfies on social media, she will find out that the only check she is getting will be a reality check.

She is not my favorite any more.

[hellohoping]

42 minutes ago, gardendiva said:

Jojo used to be my favorite. The kid who would gamely sign up for any wierd costume, any wierd character, and do it without complaint. She always seemed to be willing to do whatever was called for, and never seemed to get sassy or mouthy when Abby critiqued her.

I get it that ballet was out of her comfort zone, but what did she think she was accomplishing by walking off and leaving Kendall high and dry? Did she actually think that there wouldn't be blowback for such an extreme move?

She needs this show more than this show needs her. And if she thinks that she is going to get filthy rich by doing nothing more than posting duckface selfies on social media, she will find out that the only check she is getting will be a reality check.

She is not my favorite any more.

Quite. It's hard to see what Jess and JoJo were thinking. They're so obsessed with the 'brand' but this has not impressed anybody, she'll have only lost supporters. 

[Cherry Cola]

On 10/19/2016 at 3:56 PM, pbutler111 said:

I couldn't believe it when Jess stated -- and with such great pride! -- that Jo Jo wants to be the next Kim Kardashian!  The first Kim Kardashian is totally useless, so why in the world would you encourage your talented daughter to aspire to be just like her?  That's really disturbing.

Yeah! My jaw about dropped.  Do these people not know how Kim K got "Famous"? My gosh.  That is just ridiculous!  Also, have these people never heard about the dark side of fame? No way would I ever want in that business. Never. 

Kalani is stunning.  Her dancing is beautiful. She shows emotion.  I only see a blank look on Kendall's.  And she slouches.  

[Absolom]

The whole JoJo and Jess walking out was totally staged.  They can't just walk off the show without consequences. 

[pbutler111]

2 hours ago, Sgt Pepper said:

Yeah! My jaw about dropped.  Do these people not know how Kim K got "Famous"? My gosh.  That is just ridiculous!  Also, have these people never heard about the dark side of fame? No way would I ever want in that business. Never. 

Kalani is stunning.  Her dancing is beautiful. She shows emotion.  I only see a blank look on Kendall's.  And she slouches.  

Yes, Kalani is really beautiful and talented, but her mother seems to be a felon with with serious hair-trigger rage issues.

[SoCal4Us]

Sorry if this has already been mentioned somewhere, but I was stunned to see that JoJo's "Boomerang" video has over 91 million views on YouTube.

[RealityCowgirl]

On October 21, 2016 at 11:43 AM, SoCal4Us said:

Sorry if this has already been mentioned somewhere, but I was stunned to see that JoJo's "Boomerang" video has over 91 million views on YouTube.

I danced over to YouTube after reading this, thinking "that can't be right..." Low and behold, it is.

I weep for our future. 

;)

[RedFire2000]

Did anybody else catch a sour faced Jessalyn pulling her cellphone out and started playing on it when Brynn was announced at the top of the pyramid. More proof of her jealousy and nastiness towards Brynn. What a bitch!

[tessat]

Jess and Jojo may very well be seeing the writing on the wall and leaving before the ship sinks or they have something else going on. I can't remember when the 1st came on the show but their contract may have been up and they didn't want to have to endure another year. As far as Jojo's video - sorry but I think it's cute and a good video for grade and starting middle school girls. Gives a positive message from someone they like - no sex - no swearing. I wouldn't put it on my top 100 list but it serves it's purpose.

There is life after Dance Moms - if you work it right but even if it doesn't work out for Jojo - they would only have probably another year of fame before she'd be in the same position. Others have moved on and succeeded and she might too. Asia just came out with a new video - I love it - and she's so grown up now.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNPF5Qh3npY&feature=youtu.be

[spanana]

On 10/23/2016 at 7:44 AM, tessat said:

Jess and Jojo may very well be seeing the writing on the wall and leaving before the ship sinks or they have something else going on. I can't remember when the 1st came on the show but their contract may have been up and they didn't want to have to endure another year. As far as Jojo's video - sorry but I think it's cute and a good video for grade and starting middle school girls. Gives a positive message from someone they like - no sex - no swearing. I wouldn't put it on my top 100 list but it serves it's purpose.

There is life after Dance Moms - if you work it right but even if it doesn't work out for Jojo - they would only have probably another year of fame before she'd be in the same position. Others have moved on and succeeded and she might too. Asia just came out with a new video - I love it - and she's so grown up now.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNPF5Qh3npY&feature=youtu.be

Is that actually Asia's voice? I saw her sing/perform on that reality show she had a few years back and she didn't sound remotely like that.  There she sounded just as bad as the rest of the Dance Moms girls.

Also yes, Jess and Jojo might be trying to jump off a sinking ship...but the question is why would you want to jump off a sinking ship by making yourself look bad?  At least negotiate with producers for a positive exit and not one that makes you look like a baby and somebody that nobody in their right mind would want to hire.  And then don't sit on social media making yourself look worse by badmouthing your team and the show.  Take the high road.  Though I realize that take the high road is not advice that anybody on Dance Moms has ever heeded.

I really don't see Jojo getting past the cute kid stage in Hollywood, unless she plans to do something about her speech and the overly bleached hair.  That talk-sing thing she does (and no, it doesn't qualify as rap) isn't going to appeal to anyone beyond early middle-schoolers.  But I'll say Jojo must have legit representation.  I saw she's performing at the Nickelodeon Halo Awards.  So she's booking gigs aimed at the demo that watches Dance Moms.

[KaveDweller]

On 10/23/2016 at 7:44 AM, tessat said:

Jess and Jojo may very well be seeing the writing on the wall and leaving before the ship sinks or they have something else going on.

I'm sure they have something else going on, or I don't think they'd be leaving. They seem desperate for the spotlight. Jess pretty much said she had other things going on and it was hurting JoJo's "brand" to keep losing on the show.

These may not be great things, but if their goal is to be the next Kardashians, anything that gives them attention will work.

6 hours ago, spanana said:

Also yes, Jess and Jojo might be trying to jump off a sinking ship...but the question is why would you want to jump off a sinking ship by making yourself look bad?  At least negotiate with producers for a positive exit and not one that makes you look like a baby and somebody that nobody in their right mind would want to hire.  And then don't sit on social media making yourself look worse by badmouthing your team and the show.  Take the high road.  Though I realize that take the high road is not advice that anybody on Dance Moms has ever heeded.

They may not have had a choice. Maddie and McKenzie got a positive exit, but Brooke, Paige, and Chloe did not. Neither did lots of other random guest dancers.

[limecoke]

So Jessilyn aspires to have her daughter be another Kim Kardashian?  Well, that pretty much says it all.  But this is also a mom who has bleached her child's hair since she was, what, two?  She is stone crazy.  Poor JoJo.

[tessat]

I've just listened to a few singing videos of Asia's and yes that is her voice. I know she was taking voice lessons and seems to have gotten much better over the past few years.

As far as the Jojo / Jess edit - we always have to have a mean mom in the group - Kelly, Christy, Jill now Jess - you always have to have the underdog - each new mom and girl that comes into the ALDC. Jill is content to continue that role - I don't think Jess was as I really liked her a few seasons back when Holly became more outspoken and Jess was the calm one.

I just wish them luck with whatever they do and if opportunities have presented themselves - better to grab them when you can as Fame can be fleeting!

[spanana]

18 hours ago, KaveDweller said:

I'm sure they have something else going on, or I don't think they'd be leaving. They seem desperate for the spotlight. Jess pretty much said she had other things going on and it was hurting JoJo's "brand" to keep losing on the show.

These may not be great things, but if their goal is to be the next Kardashians, anything that gives them attention will work.

They may not have had a choice. Maddie and McKenzie got a positive exit, but Brooke, Paige, and Chloe did not. Neither did lots of other random guest dancers.

I'd argue that Jojo's exit and Chloe's exit were not treated the same, or at least didn't come off the same way.  I honestly don't remember Paige and Brooke's exit anymore.  With Jojo, she and Jess came off like the brats.  It wasn't like Abby in that particular moment was being unreasonable towards Jojo.  Abby wasn't being mean to her.  She offered her an opportunity and Jojo didn't want to do it.  Did Abby set up Jojo to fail? Maybe.  Were they all reading from scripts?  Maybe. But how is that different than ever other week.  I'd argue the majority of the viewers, or at least the ones sounding off online, came away with a negative feeling towards Jojo and Jess.  Just look at their twitter feeds if you want to see the disdain pointed in their direction.  Mind you people already couldn't stand Jess for playing the mean mom role of late anyway.

With Chloe, she was always set up to be the underdog and Abby was the big meanie that wouldn't let her shine.  When Chloe left, viewer sympathy was generally with Chloe for putting up with Abby and her browbeating for all those years.  Fans wanted to see Chloe get away from Abby and succeed.  I'm not sure Jojo and Jess really have that same viewer sympathy. 

[RealityCowgirl]

I'm old, so take my memory with a big block of salt. But wasn't Chloe's last (on camera, at least) straw Abby making fun of her eye in one of her post-competition rages? 

I'm not naive to think this thing isn't heavily scripted, but that felt all too real to me. 

[KaveDweller]

53 minutes ago, RealityCowgirl said:

I'm old, so take my memory with a big block of salt. But wasn't Chloe's last (on camera, at least) straw Abby making fun of her eye in one of her post-competition rages? 

I'm not naive to think this thing isn't heavily scripted, but that felt all too real to me. 

Yeah, that was her last episode. It was a season finale. In the first episode when they came back from hiatus, all the girls told Abby how Chloe had supposedly been ignoring all their attempts to reach out and they didn't know if she was coming back. It was likely scripted and probably didn't actually hurt Chloe, but they tried.