‘Dance Moms’ Star Maddie Ziegler Apologizes For Offensive Video Clips From When She Was 9 Years Old

Former Dance Moms star Maddie Ziegler took to social media on Tuesday, August 4, to apologize for old videos of herself that recently resurfaced on the internet. In the videos, she could be heard making fun of different accents. Despite the fact that Ziegler was a child at the time, many found the clips offensive and called upon her to apologize, according to USA Today.

Ziegler shared her apology on both her Twitter page and her Instagram story. She acknowledged that she now knows that her behavior at the time was not okay. She also said she has learned and grown and would not make these types of mistakes today.

“There are a few videos some of you have seen from when I was about 9 years old where I thought it was funny to mock people and accents. I’m honestly ashamed and I’m truly sorry for my actions,” she began.

She went on to say that, at the time, she had thought that what she was doing was just being silly and that she did not understand that she was really being racially insensitive. Ziegler acknowledged that being in the public eye at such a young age came with certain setbacks. One of these setbacks is making mistakes for all to see. She asked her fans for forgiveness and noted that she hopes they see that she is a different person now.

Ziegler concluded her post by asking her fans to stop attacking one another regarding this issue and to remain positive on social media. She also expressed her desire for people to stop trying to defend her.

“I know some of you are hurt and may not accept my apology but I want to ask all of you to please be kind to each other on socials. There is no need to attack each other or try to defend me. I don’t want anyone to feel bullied and think we can all learn from my mistakes and spread love during these times when we need it most.”

The clips that have caused controversy were not aired on Dance Moms but rather were comments she made while playing around with friends.

Ziegler is not the only person from Dance Moms to receive criticism of late. In fact, her former dance instructor, Abby Lee Miller, publicly apologized in June after facing allegations that she mistreated some of her African American dance students, as The Inquisitr previously reported. Miller promised to educate herself and to do better.