Dance Moms in the Media

[cali1981]

1. Melissa - that Maddie/Melissa show they just aired proved this to me - she has raised a child who is obsessed with being perfect all the time and lives in constant fear of a disappointing an unstable woman that she hired to teach her how to do dance - yeah, that won't end badly :/.

 

I hope that this doesn't offend but when I read this comment, it crossed my mind that if Maddie starts developing physically and gains what would be a relatively normal amount of weight for a teenager, she might be a candidate to develop an eating disorder (Obsessed with perfection or others perception of that, fear of disapproval from peers or adults or "society").  I hope not but Melissa is such a horrible parent that, if down the line, this were to happen, she wouldn't have any  capacity to recognize the warning signs and even if she did, she would probably ignore them in the service of her fame whoring.

[Lemons]

Especially at a well established convention/workshop national.  Sia noticed Maddie because of exposure through Dance Moms, but Dance Moms could have been developed around any one of hundreds of studios across the country - then it could have been another dancer, or not.  Unknowable but highly likely.

 

 

I would say Maddie's competition will be with child actors, not kids who dance at competitions.  That little teeny dancer who tap dances, I think her name is Sophia, has been in the spotlight forever.  So have others.  They just don't have it outside of the competition world.  But there will be other little girls that Maddie will have a tough time competing against for acting jobs. 

[Lemons]

Weirdly enough the reason I want Maddie to fail is for Maddie.  As it stands now she is held up as perfection and she needs to fail to learn at auditions no matter how good she is

 

I think the whole "Maddie is perfect" skit was when she was younger.  We have seen her come in 2nd, 3rd, 4th this year, so she doesn't win all the time.  And I'm sure she's going on auditions and not getting jobs.  No actor or dancer gets every job they want, even the best.  I think the perfection thing is long gone.  She is well aware of rejection at this point. That doesn't take away from her being a top dancer for her age.

 

I hear Kalani's mother blame the judges, choreographer, teacher, etc more often when Kalani loses.  Kalani once got third and her mother stated something like "Kalani never gets third!"  Well she has now!  But I'm pretty sure Kalani, like Maddie, has more sense than her mother. 

[tessa]

I'll disagree with the last part as Kalani is of another mind set. She's experienced national rejection on AUDC. Just this last episode or so she commented that she knows as Kira has been telling her that since she was 10.

 

Maddie has a type A personality. She herself says she has to be perfect - she wants to be perfect. Melissa just shrugs that off as that's how Maddie is.  Some of the top reasons for teen suicide is stress, cyber bullying and divorce, all of which Maddie has experienced. She's obsessed with perfection and being perfect. She needs to be counciled that it's OK not to be perfect. If she reads any of the message boards - she's seeing the exact thing you have talked about and it's hard for an adult to deal with criticism let alone a child and Melissa's divorce does not sound like it was an easy one. The dad has to have a lot of hurt feelings and I think Melissa transfers hers onto the girls. Abby and Melissa don't help with the constant pressure. 

 

I do hope that things work out OK - but when you look at the group of kids that have been in the public eye in the last 20 yrs - it's pretty disturbing how they have made out.

[NextIteration]

I would say Maddie's competition will be with child actors, not kids who dance at competitions.  That little teeny dancer who tap dances, I think her name is Sophia, has been in the spotlight forever.  So have others.  They just don't have it outside of the competition world.  But there will be other little girls that Maddie will have a tough time competing against for acting jobs. 

 

That has nothing to do with the quote that I was responding to.  The quote I was responding to specifically dealt with Maddie's dance ability.

 

I think the whole "Maddie is perfect" skit was when she was younger.  We have seen her come in 2nd, 3rd, 4th this year, so she doesn't win all the time.  And I'm sure she's going on auditions and not getting jobs.  No actor or dancer gets every job they want, even the best.  I think the perfection thing is long gone.  She is well aware of rejection at this point. That doesn't take away from her being a top dancer for her age.

 

I hear Kalani's mother blame the judges, choreographer, teacher, etc more often when Kalani loses.  Kalani once got third and her mother stated something like "Kalani never gets third!"  Well she has now!  But I'm pretty sure Kalani, like Maddie, has more sense than her mother. 

 

Not one bit more than Jill, Holly, Melissa or Kelly and Christi back in the day.  They all do it, it's an acceptable mentality in this group - and it's one of poor sportsmanship.

[Lemons]

That has nothing to do with the quote that I was responding to.  The quote I was responding to specifically dealt with Maddie's dance ability.

 

 

Not one bit more than Jill, Holly, Melissa or Kelly and Christi back in the day.  They all do it, it's an acceptable mentality in this group - and it's one of poor sportsmanship.

 

I was more thinking what's going on now.  She's no longer just focused on winning a competition.  And what I find so silly is how much of a big deal they all make about whose first, second, etc.  The ones in the top few are virtually the same.  Interchangeable. 

 

And yes, Kelly and Christie and the rest all made excuses, but I was commenting on the current shows.  Kalani's mother has taken over as a crazy psycho stage mom who is not providing her child with a stable household.   

[NextIteration]

Kalani's mother has taken over as a crazy psycho stage mom who is not providing her child with a stable household.   

 

Meh, I don't know that, do you have insider information that proves it?  I find Jill to be be a psycho crazy stage mom, along with Melissa, with Holly trotting close behind, the only calm mother these days is Jess.

[Darknight]

I think the whole "Maddie is perfect" skit was when she was younger. We have seen her come in 2nd, 3rd, 4th this year, so she doesn't win all the time. And I'm sure she's going on auditions and not getting jobs. No actor or dancer gets every job they want, even the best. I think the perfection thing is long gone. She is well aware of rejection at this point. That doesn't take away from her being a top dancer for her age.

I hear Kalani's mother blame the judges, choreographer, teacher, etc more often when Kalani loses. Kalani once got third and her mother stated something like "Kalani never gets third!" Well she has now! But I'm pretty sure Kalani, like Maddie, has more sense than her mother.

Gee maybe that day the judges thought another dancer was better than Kalani. And nobody cares how you placed at a dance competition. Unless it's YAGP where these dancers become stars and get contracts. But Kalani isn't a ballet dancer she's a comp dancer chasing exposure.

Meh, I don't know that, do you have insider information that proves it? I find Jill to be be a psycho crazy stage mom, along with Melissa, with Holly trotting close behind, the only calm mother these days is Jess.

Kira left her son and bf behind in AZ to chase fame for Kalani. Now she's pregnant and is still putting the show and fame above everything else. I wonder how this is affecting the whole family. Kira is also divorced from Kalani's dad.

[NextIteration]

Kira left her son and bf behind in AZ to chase fame for Kalani. Now she's pregnant and is still putting the show and fame above everything else. I wonder how this is affecting the whole family. Kira is also divorced from Kalani's dad.

 

I assume she signed a contract, I also think that she's serving as "momager" like all these fame seeking mothers.  I have no idea when Kira and Kalani's father divorced, however is she not allowed to start a new life and family because she also is serving as "momager" to Kalani?

 

Holly left her kids behind, Jill left her other kids behind.  I'm not familiar with Jessalyn and JoJo's family composition.  What is it that makes Kira worse?

[missbonnie]

I actually had no problems whatsoever with Maddie until thanks to Abbey, she became the focus and when Mack beat her she was extremely bratty about it. The special they aired with Melissa and Maddie showed that it still sticks in her craw that her little sister beat her and she commented that it didn't bother her because she knew that she would turn around and beat Mack the next week. I realize that she's only 12 or 13, but as a former dance team/cheer coach it's like a flare going up that she's heading into mean girl territory if someone doesn't reign her ego in, which we all know her mother won't.

[OnceSane]

Back on topic, please. If you want to discuss the girls, take it to their thread. Thanks.

[NextIteration]

Afterbuzz from July 22nd.  Kira joins for discussion of Season 6.

 

For the record, I can't stand Christy Olsen. (sp)

[tessa]

http://nypost.com/2015/07/25/chandelier-kid-maddie-ziegler-ditched-sia-for-a-new-gig/- nothing new here but I'd like to write that guy and tell him it's old news he's reporting and Sia actually dumped Maddie - not the other way around

[tessa]

May be just my way of looking at things - but after Melissa snubbed Sia's mom and she had the other group of kids dance to her song I figured Melissa had ticked her off. I know I would be upset if I had gotten this kid the exposure that I did and then my mother was not even allowed to meet Maddie.

[Lemons]

I just figured that Sia wasn't releasing more singles or videos. Did something else happen? She talked about writing a movie role for Maddie, IIRC.

 

That would make sense that Maddie was hired to do the videos and then promotion with Sia for the videos and albums.  Then they both move on. 

[Tasya]

It wasn't a matter of her "dumping" Maddie; that's just a ridiculous way to state the end of any collaboration. Sia stated that this was a trilogy and that's what Maddie was cast for. It wouldn't make sense for Sia to continue to use Maddie in every single video and/or musical endeavor for the rest of her career. She still talks positively about Maddie and vice versa, so I think their relationship is still strong. 

[NextIteration]

I just see that's it's the NY Post and ignore it.  My standard response to anything offered there.

[dyanad]

So apparently yesterday was a very bad day for Maddie. Someone hacked her iCloud and posted a video of her flashing her breasts. It's been all over instagram, etc. Melissa has been quiet, but friends have been offering support. The FBI is investigating currently. 

 

My first question is why was she allowed to even make and keep this video on her phone? Melissa really needs to parent these children.

[NextIteration]

Oh I really hope this isn't true.  Twelve is soooo young for her to be doing such a thing and then to be exploited.

 

Where are the parents?  Oh yeah, this is Melissa we are talking about.

[Kcat1971]

There is a Target Ad on my Twitter feed that includes Maddie along with other child dancers.  Sorry I can't figure out how to post a link.

[NextIteration]

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OmcuiLAUvg

 

Target stuff. :)

[Lemons]

There is a Target Ad on my Twitter feed that includes Maddie along with other child dancers.  Sorry I can't figure out how to post a link.

 

Little what's her name is also in this.  Cute commercial. 

[Darknight]

Why is a 12yo making videos like that???

[CoolMom]

I think Asia was in that ad as well around the 14 or 15 sec. mark.

Why is a 12yo making videos like that???

Sadly so many are these days...

[KaveDweller]

So apparently yesterday was a very bad day for Maddie. Someone hacked her iCloud and posted a video of her flashing her breasts. It's been all over instagram, etc. Melissa has been quiet, but friends have been offering support. The FBI is investigating currently. 

 

My first question is why was she allowed to even make and keep this video on her phone? Melissa really needs to parent these children.

 

I'm not a parent, but if I was I don't know if I would monitor every single thing my 12-year-old did with her cell phone. That's a pretty big undertaking, especially if the kid is generally well-behaved.  I am not usually one to defend Melissa, but everything Maddie does can't be blamed on her.

 

I blame the asshole who hacked the phone.

[dyanad]

While I do blame the jerk who hacked her phone, this isn't the first time that inappropriate pictures/videos have leaked from Maddie and or Mackenzie. Granted, this has been the first naked one. When I say Melissa needs to parent, I mean she should be teaching her girls that they shouldn't be making these videos PERIOD and that you can't always control who they get out to and how. Believe me, I taught my little sister when she was 15 and sent a naked pic of herself to her boyfriend. I found it (and it had her face in it too..extra bad). My mom and I told her that our cell phone provider contacted us about possible child porn being disseminated from our account. Told her they were sending us the picture in question (which she begged us not to look at). Told her the police were investigating. She was so scared and never did anything like that again. Her boyfriend was scared crapless that he was going to get arrested, he never came around again. There are ways to give a VERY strong message.

[NextIteration]

Wait, WHAT?! That makes me sick. Who was she sending those to?!

 

That was my thought, who does she have a relationship with at the age of 12 that she would want to send it to?

 

I harangue my 20 year old about snap chat not really going away even though she's in a six year relationship with her boyfriend.  You should be able to talk with your kids about all of this and why it's a terrible idea.  And Maddie, as an easy target - should have been talked to about the ramifications of these types of things.

[KaveDweller]

While I do blame the jerk who hacked her phone, this isn't the first time that inappropriate pictures/videos have leaked from Maddie and or Mackenzie. Granted, this has been the first naked one. When I say Melissa needs to parent, I mean she should be teaching her girls that they shouldn't be making these videos PERIOD and that you can't always control who they get out to and how.

 

Well, yes, she should be teaching them that. Especially considering Maddie's in the public eye.  But Melissa is the one who was okay with 6-year-old Mackenzie dressing up like a showgirl, so....

[Lemons]

Why is a 12yo making videos like that???

According to the link of tumblr that is posted above, they were changing and Kalani was recording on her phone and Maddie "flashed" her for a second (as gimipizza said).  Someone also said it was an older video because both girls appeared  younger.

 

First, Maddie has no boobs to flash.  Second, how can the video be shown on the Internet without being considered child pornography?  Third, I didn't know that Tumblr was still around or that her fans were so obsessive. 

 

Because of Maddie's fame and her obsessive fans, an adult needs to take control of her social media and monitor everything.  That includes all of the girls.  They are too young to handle social media.  Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, iphones weren't made for children. 

Edited July 29, 2015 by Lemons

[allypenguin]

The victim blaming in this thread is atrocious. It's very "oh but why were you wearing a short skirt if you didn't want that to happen?" I don't care why she had those pictures/videos on her phone. The fact that someone hacked it and released them to the public is a violation of her bodily autonomy and it's even worse because she's 12 years old.

 

Should Melissa or her publicist have warned Maddie about the dangers of taking videos or photos like that? Yes. But Maddie first of all is a victim in this. Instead of people's first thoughts jumping to, why did Maddie have these pictures, they should be what kind of sick individuals release topless photos of a 12 year old? What about all the parents who need to teach their children to not be sociopaths and value CONSENT and not treat women and girls' bodies as objects???

Edited July 29, 2015 by allypenguin

[Lemons]

I don't see how it's the fault of the obsessive fans who are like, what 12-16 years old? It's not so much obsessive fans so much as it is the poor decisions of children with access to technology, poor parenting, and a lack of supervision. But I doubt these kids are sophisticated enough to "hack" Maddie's icloud account. 

 

I didn't mean it was their fault.  I said I didn't know the fan base was so obsessive.  But they certainly are sophisticated enough to hack accounts, make fake accounts, photoshop, etc. 

 

http://jezebel.com/the-terrifying-instagram-world-of-the-tweenage-dance-mo-1679197683

[allypenguin]

I can only speak for myself but it's more shock than "victim blaming" on my end. My first reaction is "what the hell?!" to all of this. I don't think that Maddie deserves any of this or that it's her fault. I think that her parents have seriously dropped the ball and I do think that Melissa should go to the police and *do* something rather than pretending that nothing happened. Because I can't imagine a victim feeling anything but shame and blame when her *own parent* wont advocate on her behalf.

 

 

I was not singling you out or addressing you directly in my original post but I have seen MANY posts in this thread blaming Melissa for not monitoring her social media and technology and many reactions like (paraphrasing) "my first question is why did she have those videos in the first place." Furthermore, it's been stated in the thread a few times already that the FBI and the police are actually investigating. Neither Melissa nor Maddie are beholden to us, the public, or the fans about the sensitive matter of this investigation, particularly for what seemed like a pretty innocent snapchat or text or whatever to a friend. I HOPE they have privacy in this matter and it does not turn into a media circus. I feel so badly for Maddie, who is a child, for having to go through all this and wish the sick person who released the video gets punished severely for what they have done.

 

Edited to add: she may be pretending nothing happened on social media/the internet because she wants to protect her daughter and doesn't want it to blow up, but we have no idea of knowing what is actually happening in their personal lives.

Edited July 29, 2015 by allypenguin

[dyanad]

Wait Ally, I feel you are targeting my comment specifically. I do not blame Maddie and yes she is a victim. I hope the person is caught and punished harshly. With that being said, no 12 year old should be making videos that are sexually suggestive. It's a different world out there today and yes I believe parents should be aware of what their young children are doing online. Are they posting pictures of them in their bathing suits? are they putting any information out there that someone could identify where they go to school or live? If so, you need to have them take it down and discuss why that is unacceptable or dangerous. With Maddie being 100 times more vulnerable as a public figure and a child it is that much more important to be aware of what she is putting out there. I hope Melissa does start monitoring them closer.

[NextIteration]

Wait Ally, I feel you are targeting my comment specifically. I do not blame Maddie and yes she is a victim. I hope the person is caught and punished harshly. With that being said, no 12 year old should be making videos that are sexually suggestive. It's a different world out there today and yes I believe parents should be aware of what their young children are doing online. Are they posting pictures of them in their bathing suits? are they putting any information out there that someone could identify where they go to school or live? If so, you need to have them take it down and discuss why that is unacceptable or dangerous. With Maddie being 100 times more vulnerable as a public figure and a child it is that much more important to be aware of what she is putting out there. I hope Melissa does start monitoring them closer.

 

This 1000 times.

 

I'm not blaming Maddie.  She is clearly the victim here.  The point is that kids and technology are going to make mistakes and it's our duty as parents to talk to them and show them the pitfalls that are out there and monitor, monitor, keylog, monitor.  We have to teach them WHY no matter how silly and innocent something may seem to them, it's a bad idea to do x y and z.  And I'm not joking about keylogging, it may seem like an invasion but up until you can see that a child is responsible with social media it's necessary in my opinion. 

 

In almost every single interview these girls give out their "new" Instagram or Twitter or Vine and say "my old one was hacked".  This is because nobody in this group (I'm looking at the parents and the producers) are taking the care that they should be with such young girls using social media.

 

There is a reason why Facebook has or had a minimum age to participate.  Remember all those Dateline episodes about predators on the internet?  Phone pics also give away important location information in their properties.

 

Also, these damn phones shouldn't come with automatic backup to clouds, this is a personal opinion but I find it ridiculous that you have to go out of your way to disable this stuff.  But even with that, so many folks use Dropbox and other cloud apps that can be hacked if you don't put strong passwords on them.  But this all illustrates why parents have to be mindful if they allow their youngsters to be on social media without training wheels like keylogging and monitoring. 

[littlemermaid11]

Wait Ally, I feel you are targeting my comment specifically. I do not blame Maddie and yes she is a victim. I hope the person is caught and punished harshly. With that being said, no 12 year old should be making videos that are sexually suggestive. It's a different world out there today and yes I believe parents should be aware of what their young children are doing online. Are they posting pictures of them in their bathing suits? are they putting any information out there that someone could identify where they go to school or live? If so, you need to have them take it down and discuss why that is unacceptable or dangerous. With Maddie being 100 times more vulnerable as a public figure and a child it is that much more important to be aware of what she is putting out there. I hope Melissa does start monitoring them closer.

 

I totally agree.  While the person who hacked and leaked the video is completely vile and should be held responsible, I feel like Maddie should have better sense than to have done this.  While the video may have been innocent messing around between two friends, it wasn't just an accident or a camera slip, Maddie intentionally flashed the camera.  Like you said, no 12 year old should be making videos that are sexually suggestive, and Maddie should be educated on this, especially in her position.  She should understand that having such a video on her phone or in her icloud was risky, as well as that she shouldn't be partially naked around any cameras, no matter how innocent the intentions - Melissa should have taught her that.  

 

You can call it victim blaming, but there are nasty people out there and children need to be taught that if you play with fire, you might get burned.  I don't blame Maddie, she simply made a mistake and now she's facing the consequences.  However I feel she should have known better, and I place that onus on Melissa.

[dyanad]

Ally, you are going off in left field here. I won't debate any further as what you are saying is apples and oranges. No I have not flashed or have any nude pics of myself in my entire life, let alone when I was a young 12 year old girl. Did we do stuff like this at slumber parties, etc.? Sure, there was nothing there to record or document our stupidity. Flashing your breast is sexually suggestive, no matter how you look at it. Maddie knew what the action meant. If you don't want it out there...don't put it on any type of media that can get out of your control. And that is what Melissa should be teaching her daughter. 

 

As for Vanessa Hudgens, she was under age. How many times can I say it NO UNDER AGE GIRL SHOULD HAVE NUDE PICTURES OR VIDEOS OF THEMSELVES PERIOD. Why is this acceptable to people? It seems today's children need to express themselves this was and it's not a good message at all to cosign the behavior.

Edited July 29, 2015 by dyanad

[Lemons]

Ally, so if I am hearing you correctly you don't think children should be taught what they are doing is wrong? I am a bit confused. To me there is room for both in this equation.

 

Nobody knows what Maddie has been taught or hasn't been taught.

 

I know many parents don't think to teach their middle school children about internet safety, sex, drugs, etc because they don't think it applies to their children or they think they are too young.  They are usually wrong on both counts.  I'm speaking in general here, not this case. 

 

And of course the opposite happens too; that when parents are super vigilante and aware, teaching their children all the right things and the child still makes the wrong choices. 

[OnceSane]

I have deleted several posts for tone. If you cannot discuss this topic without lecturing, calling out posters, or general rudeness, then maybe step back from the conversation.

[Darknight]

I can only speak for myself but it's more shock than "victim blaming" on my end. My first reaction is "what the hell?!" to all of this. I don't think that Maddie deserves any of this or that it's her fault. I think that her parents have seriously dropped the ball and I do think that Melissa should go to the police and *do* something rather than pretending that nothing happened. Because I can't imagine a victim feeling anything but shame and blame when her *own parent* wont advocate on her behalf.

No child should be taking or recording naked video/pictures of themselves. That's child pornography. Melissa needs to monitor her kids accounts. Maddie and Kalani should know that this sort of thing shouldn't be recorded.

[HighQueenEB]

I'm sure that many of you posting here have teenage daughters or nieces so you're just as aware as I (one niece is, thankfully, well into her 20s now, but the other is just starting through the tumultuous teen years) that sometimes it really doesn't matter how much you tell a kid to not take risque or dirty pictures or videos, some of them are going to do it.  I work with a youth organization for teenage girls and the adult leadership/advisers have been trying to educate young women about the dangers of social media and the internet for at least the last 9 years since my older niece became a state level officer.  I know girls who, for a variety of reasons including poor body image, low self-esteem, peer and relationship pressures, have made these type of pictures or videos.  It happens.  Maddie is all of 12 years old.  While it certainly should be expected, as active as these girls are on social media, that their parents are actively monitoring their interactions, sometimes, stuff falls through the cracks.  I am not going to fault Melissa or any other parent, not when it's a 12 year old kid we are talking about.  Maybe if she was 14 or 16, I'd be jumping on board the "really, Melissa?!" bandwagon.  She probably won't ever, hopefully, do something like that again thanks to the extremely public nature of this incident.

[tessa]

http://www.designntrend.com/articles/58113/20150730/dance-moms-star-maddie-ziegler-feuding-chloe-lukasiak-blames-abby.htm

 

I haven't watched the after programs but found this when I was searching to see if there was anymore about the Maddie incident. Wow, Maddie is going to ruffle Abby's feathers!

 

And a little article on Maddie - I'm glad the kid is looking in the right direction and not like Melissa. Hopefully, in 10 years when they do a Where Are They Now - Maddie will in deed be going strong and just not another Dance Teacher at Abby's - then again - if that's what she wants - more power to her - as long as she's happy. Not sure Melissa will be cool with it!

 

http://www.movienewsguide.com/will-maddie-ziegler-go-college-parents-want-give-education/78588

[Nikki831]

This Maddie vs Chloe rivalry among fans has gotten way out of hand.  The following was posted by someone named Maddie (brenniezozo) who used to be brenniexoxo.  It was posted on Christi's Twitter page by a Chloe fan who must have looked at this person's Twitter page and wanted Christie to be aware of it as well as Twitter itself.

 

I'm sure Chloe fans have said some really bad things about Maddie. I don't look at Maddie's or Melissa's social media pages to know, but I really wish these two young, innocent girls could get together and do a video or something asking their fans to please stop the madness. 

Edited July 30, 2015 by Nikki831

[tessa]

Nikki - excellent idea!

[tessa]

- Another Maddy B video coming out and who's in it but Jojo - I'm happy for her but sad that Mac is so self conscious and uncomfortable that she's missing a lot of opportunities.

[Darknight]

Their Fans which are kids need parenting. The Maddie vs Chloe showdown is ridiculous. That comment was inappropriate

[NextIteration]

I think this is the piece about Abby being gross.

[tessa]

The comments are the best - first half supporting her - than ALM posts (?) followed by criticism.

[DoctorWhovian]

So I did some digging and apparently she was with Kalani and "flashed" the camera. Melissa saying the video is fake but fans say otherwise and are angry at Melissa for lying. I found this out by searching keywords on tumblr, if anyone else wants to dig: https://www.tumblr.com/search/maddie+ziegler

 

There is way too much attention paid to these young girls (just based on the little bit I browsed from this link.. the gifs, the posts, all of this). I really hope that most, if not all, of these are by fellow young girls who look to them as aspirations or similar. There's one thing to talk about a show, enjoy the dances, and whatnot, but some of this seems a bit much. Then again, most of tumblr scares me.

 

But this whole thing is just gross and I hope Maddie doesn't get too down on herself. We all did stupid things, and we should all be lucky that they weren't broadcast in a way that anyone could see them. And then add in her being "famous." Poor girl.

[Tasya]

As someone who actually saw the video (my niece is an avid Maddie fan) this is being blown completely out of proportion. Even saying that Maddie shouldn't have made an "explicit video" is just so silly in my opinion. I know that as a young girl around her age, having a sleep over or dressing in the same area as a friend, I very likely did a similar thing. What happens is this, Maddie and it looks like Kendall or Kalani or dancing around a bathroom; Maddie is holding either a towel or shirt up to her chest; she turns toward the camera, lowers it for literally a second and then covers back up. That's it, the big "scandal". Personally I think it's ridiculous to say that Melissa is a bad mother for not stopping this from happening (she's a bad mother for many, many other things) or that Maddie is a bad child for doing this. The person that is in the wrong is whoever hacked this child's account to post this and anyone who takes this and uses it to attack a kid.

 

I've seen some postings from the "Team Chloe" (as in her rabid, over the top fans; not normal fans) who are making it seem as if Maddie starred in a Kim K. video. I've even seen it said that she could or should be out of the running for a teen choice award for this which is just ridiculous. The "Team Maddie" fans are just as bad with the intimations that Chloe will end up young and pregnant like her mother for dating this kid that I believe is 17. The rivalry between these two girls is not healthy and the adults on both sides need to step back and use a clear head. Melissa for all her faults does not attack everything that Chloe does, nor does anyone who is directly attached to Maddie's life. Christi, does not attack Maddie directly, however, the lady that does their event and whose daughter choreographs for Chloe frequently posts mean things about Maddie. The entire situation is just sad. 

[tessa]

Well - even without the video released Nia's SLAY is #20 on the itunes US pop chart and #7 on Ireland's itunes pop chart.  Chloe put up a cute photo of Nia and herself on Nia's instagram wishing her luck.