JoJo Siwa may have entered a new era with the release of her single “Karma,” but the Dance Moms alum has mixed feelings about the reality show’s next chapter.
Dance Moms: A New Era debuts on Hulu later this month, rebooting the original hit reality series with new mother-daughter duos — and with instructor Glo Hampton leading the charge in place of Abby Lee Miller.
“I’m happy for them,” Siwa, 21 — who starred on the original Dance Moms for two seasons from 2015 to 2016 — told Us Weekly exclusively while promoting her new movie, #AMFAD: All My Friends Are Dead. “I think any kids that get a platform like this have a chance to truly change the world and make their stamp and I’m very happy for them.”
While Siwa confirmed she will “sure as hell be tuned in” when Dance Moms: A New Era airs, she has her doubts about the casting of the show.
“It makes me, quite honestly, a little sick to my stomach to see them try to replace Abby,” she told Us. “Even though Abby says the quote, ‘Everyone’s replaceable,’ Abby Lee is not replaceable. The only person that is not replaceable is the inventor of that quote.”
Miller, 58, was known for her intense approach to teaching the young dancers on the original series, including ranking them on a pyramid each week.
“I think that [Dance Moms: A New Era] would have a lot more success if Glo was Glo, not if Glo was Abby,” Siwa continued. “I think, realistically, Glo would not do a pyramid. She would not say, ‘There’s six weeks ’till nationals.’ She would not use the exact Abby lingo.”
Unlike some of her former castmates — including Maddie Ziegler and Chloe Lukasiak, who have distanced themselves from their Dance Moms roots — Siwa still has an appreciation for her former dance teacher.
“It’s tough when you see someone trying to be somebody that you really love and care about. And I really love and care about Abby and [her assistant] Gia,” Siwa said. “I think the show will have a lot more success if they tried to be more original versus trying to copy Abby. ‘Cause you can’t.”
Since her time on Dance Moms, Siwa has maintained a robust singing, dancing, social media and acting career. Fans heard her experiment with a more mature sound on her EP Guilty Pleasure. Her new movie, #AMFAD: All My Friends Are Dead, reflects a similar turn.
The film, which also stars Jade Pettyjohn, follows a group of college friends as they head to “Karma Palooza” music festival. However, things quickly take a turn when members of the group are killed one by one according to the seven deadly sins.
The name of the fictional music festival aligns with her recent single “Karma” — a happy accident, according to Siwa. She had already recorded the song when she was filming the movie, but she had no idea how big it would eventually become.
“I knew [‘Karma’] existed. I knew I wanted it to come out first, but I didn’t necessarily know how much ‘Karma’ was going to mean to me,” Siwa explained to Us. “I just thought it was a cute coincidence. Like, ‘Oh, no one knows, but I know.’ And then little did I know what it was going to become.”
Pettyjohn — who reunited with Siwa for this movie after the pair starred on Nickelodeon’s School of Rock together — shares Siwa’s background of being a child star, which prepared her well for a role in a horror movie.
“I’m a Nickelodeon kid. That’s where I got started where there’s slime and food fights and all of that,” Pettyjohn told Us, recounting an especially gruesome scene in #AMFAD. “For that scene, I felt totally in my [element]. I was at home. I felt totally prepared. It wasn’t vegan what they threw at me … but it was real gross stuff.”
Pettyjohn continued: “It was just really fun. I mean, that’s why you sign on to do a horror film is to scream and to be covered in fake blood.”
#AMFAD: All My Friends Are Dead will be available August 2 in select theaters, on demand and on digital.
