- Well, if you're so good, you don't really need to be
a part of the Abby Lee Dance Company.
- All of you stand here, 'cause you're cowards!
- I'm Christi Lukasiak,
and on this episode of Dance Moms: Epic Showdowns...
- To talk to my child like that.
- [Christi] Everyone fights for the top spot of the Pyramid.
- Are you kidding me?
You're kidding me, right?
- But it's always Abby who decides your fate.
- You're all at the bottom of the Pyramid, since you lost.
You lose again, not good.
- It's the difference between being the star...
- All right, at the top of the Pyramid is Kalani!
- Or being cut from the team.
- On the bottom of the Pyramid, Hannah.
- [Christi] This is Dance Moms: Epic Showdowns,
Pyramid Pandemonium.
- Can you put her picture back up?
She deserves to be on the Pyramid, she was--
- She deserves nothing!
[dramatic music]
- No one escaped the ALDC without having
at least one horrible Pyramid meltdown.
For Jessalynn and her daughter Jojo,
it was an underwhelming solo performance of "Carrie"
that put Jojo at risk from being kicked off the team.
- Next, we have...
Jojo.
You were fifth in the competition.
You're fifth on the Pyramid.
Sometimes you act like a five year old.
Maybe five is your lucky number, or not-so-lucky number.
- She did a good job last week.
She did a solo, you poured blood on her,
you put a four-inch crown on her head.
She did a good job.
- Keep telling her. - I'm telling you.
- [Christi] Talking back to Abby at Pyramid?
Never a good idea, as Jessalynn and Jojo
were about to find out.
- You should have watched the movie.
When you're given an assignment, you do it.
- But I'm in a hotel room, and a scary movie, just...
- No, we're not gonna do it.
I'm not gonna have her be scared for the next six months,
'cause she watched the movie you wanted her to watch.
Like, we did the dance, we watched the trailer,
I told her what it was about.
- You didn't change your emotion.
You were, you had one look on your face the entire time.
- It was good, she was possessed, it was good.
- Well, if you're so good, you don't really need
to be a part of the Abby Lee Dance Company.
- Can you put her picture back up?
She deserves to be on the Pyramid.
- She deserves nothing!
I will have no, no, no, no, no crying children. None.
- Well, if you yell at me, I'm gonna cry.
- Get out, go. - Let's go.
- Okay. - Go.
- Let's go, we're going home.
- See, this is where I think
the mothers are absolutely ridiculous.
Jess has no idea that I already have music selected,
a costume chosen, and choreography in mind
for Jojo to do with Mackenzie.
But no, she's gonna cause all this chaos.
- Because you talked back to her.
- No, 'cause her kids don't talk.
- [Jess] They're gonna cry.
- I hate the way that Abby is treating Jojo,
but I know this is a great opportunity for Jojo,
and I want her to be on the team,
and I want her to go back to Pittsburgh with Abby.
Say you're sorry.
- Because you're a bigger person than she is.
- Now, Kendall, you didn't win your division, obviously,
but something happened.
[gentle music]
You're back?
- Yep. - Why?
- And I'm sorry that I didn't watch the movie.
- That's taking the high road.
- Of course, if you asked Abby directions to the high road,
she would have no idea what direction to take,
but she would totally try
to tell the bus driver where to go.
- You know what you said in the beginning of the year?
See this heart?
As a dancer, you put your heart under the line,
and you know what, someone's gonna stab it.
And you know what, who thought it would be you?
[dramatic music]
- Abby's Pyramid wasn't just about ranking the dancers.
She also used that time to assign exactly
who would get a solo that week,
and if your kid didn't get picked,
the moms definitely had something to say about it,
especially Joanne and her daughter GiaNina.
- All right, onto the Pyramid.
On the bottom of the Pyramid, Hannah.
As the oldest female dancer on this team,
you should be the best.
Period.
Next on the Pyramid...
GiaNina.
You were good in the group.
I thought your turn at the beginning
with the ashes was beautiful.
There's nothing more to say.
- At Pyramid, there is always something more to say,
and with GiaNina at the bottom, she wasn't getting a solo,
and Joanne was not happy.
- Do we all understand, any questions about the solos?
Yes.
- I just don't understand why I don't have a solo,
because there's three kids on the team--
- Because I don't want you to have one.
Is that a good enough answer?
I'm not giving you another excuse.
It's my company, I say no.
- Can you stomp your feet when you say it?
'Cause that's what it sounds like, it's a little brat.
- Are you making fun of me 'cause I'm in a wheelchair
and I can't stomp my feet?
- No, I'm making fun of you
'cause you made fun of my kid all year,
that she's some kind of brat, and she's not.
She asked you a nice question,
and you're gonna- - No, you're the brat.
- You're gonna slap the paper up and down like that?
Are you serious?
Why don't you give her an adult response?
A professional response.
- You're just not good enough.
[Joanne gasps] - I, I won.
- You want a professional response?
That's it. - Wow.
- Your left leg's not as high as your right.
- You know what you said in the beginning of the year?
See this heart?
As a dancer, you put your heart on the line,
and you know what, someone's gonna stab it.
And you know what, who thought it would be you?
Who?
(bleep) this.
Snooki, get out.
Trash.
- Oh, I'm actually upset to hear
how many times Abby called other moms trash.
I thought that was her special name for me.
- Grow the (bleep) up!
I'm done, I'm leaving, goodbye.
[dramatic music]
- When Ashlee first joined the ALDC with her daughter Brynn,
she managed to get on everyone's bad side.
- What?
- Nobody wants you here, go.
- Go (bleep) yourself.
Abby, did you come all the way to sit in the car,
or are you gonna come in?
[tense music]
These moms are idiots.
- I can't stand Ashlee thinking Brynn is the next Maddie.
Not today, Satan.
- [Christi] Maddie was the breakout star of Dance Moms
and everyone wanted their daughter to be next.
- This is Brynn's opportunity to show Abby
that she is going to be the next Maddie.
Abby, how do you really feel about moms
who don't necessarily agree with the way the results went,
automatically questioning--
- This is what it's come down to,
every fricking day, thanks to that one.
- You're just jealous that Brynn
has had a better season than Kendall.
It's all over social media.
- That's a lie!
That's a flat out lie.
You're not allowed to speak or look at my child.
- I wasn't talking to either of you.
I was talking to Abby.
- Then don't speak when she's around.
- [Ashlee] I care about her feelings.
- So much that she has to tear down every kid
to make hers feel good.
- [Ashlee] I have not torn down kids, Jill.
- Yes, you do, yes, you do.
- You're the one who tears down kids every day.
You guys say crap about my kid all the time.
- You're not out there, Kendall, so you don't know.
- Excuse me, Abby!
I am not allowing this woman to talk to my child like that!
Grow the (bleep) up!
I'm done, I'm leaving, goodbye.
Have fun, I'm leaving.
I am so over this.
[tense music]
- Jill might've been over it then, but she always came back.
- An absolute liar!
And you sit there and all of you women stand here
'cause you're cowards!
[dramatic music]
- Throughout the years,
Holly has always been our voice of reason,
so when she lost it, you knew it was bad.
- Holly, what's going on with the short skirt?
And your hair's in your face, I mean, come on.
- I'm surprised you don't like my style.
- I, I don't.
- It wasn't until heading out to sunny California
that Holly was really pushed to her limit,
when Abby set up an audition for Nia
with a big time casting agent.
- Hi, Nia, I'm Lisa.
Do you have any questions before we get started,
or you would like to just jump right into it?
- I'll just jump right into it. - Great.
Have a stand right out there on that pink mark.
- [Actor] ...Ben would ever have a crush on you.
- Why would you?
How could you?
I never did anything to you.
How could I be so stupid?
Just get away from me.
- She did not take...
She, she took the character in a different direction,
which was her mother.
- Did Abby really just go there?
- [Christi] Abby embarrassed Nia and Holly
in front of the casting agents and ruined the audition.
- What you just did was foul, Abby.
Foul.
- [Christi] And after Abby left for the day,
Holly just wouldn't let it go.
- I put myself out there and no one here said anything.
Everyone's out for self.
Hope it keeps you warm at night.
It's not worth it to me.
- Well, it's not-- - It's not worth it to me.
- But Holly, I don't know what to say to a woman
who can say that to kids,
and has done that to my child. - You're wrong.
You're wrong.
- I, I get it.
- You put your daughters here.
You put them across country to be led by Abby,
and you failed your daughters,
because you are afraid of Abby.
Others may not hold Abby accountable for her behavior,
but I do, and I am not going to let Abby off the hook.
- And at Pyramid the next day, it all came to a head.
- That was mean-spirited, what you said,
and let it not go unnoticed.
- Nia, is something wrong?
- So you have nothing to say to Nia about what you said.
- I've done nothing.
Girls, you can go in the other room, and you can dance.
- No, I am not gonna have this woman
stand here and lie about what she said.
I refuse to be in a room with this woman who's lying.
- I refuse to be in a room with this woman who's lying.
- [Christi] After Abby sabotaged Nia's audition in LA...
- What you just did was foul, Abby.
- Holly demanded accountability at Pyramid.
Did she forget who she was dealing with?
- My integrity is worth more.
You are shallow, nasty, but I'm not leaving the team,
so if that's what you want, I'm not your new Christi,
and I'm not your new Kelly,
and Nia is not Brooke, Paige, or Chloe.
Okay? So you get your act together
and you stop telling lies.
You are a liar!
An absolute liar,
and you sit there, and all of you women stand here,
'cause you're cowards!
- I didn't, I wasn't there. - You're cowards!
You know I would never lie,
and you let this woman stand here and lie!
- I've never seen Holly so upset in our whole relationship.
- I am sick and tired of it.
I'm sick and I cannot take this anymore.
Not only do I deserve better,
that little girl deserves better.
She's a vicious and nasty, vile woman.
None of those other mothers said a single word.
They let that woman tear my kid apart last week,
and they did the same thing today.
That woman is insane.
She's crazy.
- I think Holly needs to keep Abby in her pocket
and not cut her off, because Abby has a lot of connections.
I mean, Holly's a dance mom.
What's she gonna do for Nia?
- So if I don't need her and she doesn't need me,
what the hell is she still doing here?
- Well, 'cause she's a part of this team.
- But she doesn't need to be.
Everyone's replaceable. - I believe she wants to be.
- Abby's favorite mantra?
"Everyone's replaceable."
And Holly believed it, too,
because she and Nia didn't go anywhere.
[all cheering]
- Are you kidding me?
You're kidding me, right?
[dramatic music]
- [Christi] When Jill and her daughter Kendall were new
to the ALDC, Jill always clashed with Abby.
- Let her wear the (bleep) damn costume!
- And Jill gained a bit of a reputation as a studio hopper.
- No, you can have her,
have her, have fun.
I'm leaving, I am so over this!
- [Christi] So when Abby criticized Kendall
on a particularly intense Pyramid,
Jill was ready to hop.
- This week, we are going to Fire and Ice
right here in Pittsburgh.
[dancers cheer] - Yay!
- And I have a reputation to uphold.
It's much more difficult to walk in
and compete against people you know
than a bunch of strangers.
Let's get to the Pyramid.
I hate to do this, but...
Kendall,
you are back on probation.
- That's ridiculous.
Abby, what more do you want from her?
- Your head is distended, your shoulders are hunched.
Your rib cage is open.
- Are you kidding me?
You're kidding me, right?
- I was not surprised in the least by Jill's reaction.
I was devastated by Kendall's reaction.
I certainly don't wake up in the morning
to intentionally hurt a child's feelings.
Now, she doesn't make the corrections.
I have been telling her since the audition
about her posture, and it has not improved once.
- Jill, careful what you wish for.
You're always demanding more special parts
and attention for Kendall,
well, you're back on probation, so you got it.
- I can't even believe it.
You know what? You should be on probation, not my daughter.
- Kendall was on the bottom of the Pyramid.
Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of Jill.
If I would, she would be the one that's there.
- I don't even know why I'm here.
You had nothing nice to say to her
since the second we got here.
You know what, Abby? She does a lot right.
- She turns like a top.
But that's what's good, I don't need to fix that.
- There's a lot of studios out there
who would love what she does right,
and you know what, Abby?
I'm not putting up with this crap anymore.
- And there it is.
- It makes me sick
to think that Abby would do this to a little girl
who is working so hard.
We'll go where they will treat you with respect.
They'll give you great numbers.
They might even let you do a solo or two.
This is disgusting to me
and I'm not putting up with it anymore.
It's over.
- I feel horrible for Jill.
It's hard being a dance mom
and making these tough decisions.
I hope she comes back.
- Jill's gonna regret walking out of there.
It was like a spur of the moment, like, I'm pissed off.
- Well, she can't come back now, after that.
- Melissa, you have to be upset.
I mean, you were friends, you are friends with Jill
and you guys were like, buddies.
- I am upset, I mean I, you know,
I just think it's the wrong decision.
- I don't know how you make a snap decision like that.
- I think she'll be back.
She sent me a text. - Ohh.
- What'd she say?
- "Kendall and I deserve better.
I'm not coming back, sorry to leave you to the wolves.
I just don't want this for K.
I'm going back to my old studio where they like Kendall."
- No, she didn't say that.
- Hello, frankly,
She's a studio hopper.
So it's time to hop back to the old one.
- And sure enough, just a few months later,
Jill came hop-hop-hopping back to the ALDC once again.
- See what happens to people?
You do all this crap for their kid,
you get them to win a national championship
and they (bleep) all over you.
[dramatic music]
- Nothing, I just, it's hard to watch your kids on stage
and think it's the last time you're gonna watch them dance.
I just don't wanna come back.
- [Christi] After Kelly's daughters, Brooke and Paige,
made the drastic move of actually leaving the ALDC
because of Abby's antics...
- You can credit me for the rest of my tuition.
- [Christi] We didn't fight about it at Pyramid.
- I think the moms are finally just at their breaking point.
- We took action.
- We're a team, and a team includes Kelly.
- I just want Kelly back.
- Oh no, that's the plan.
- So what is the plan?
- The moms and I all decided
that we're just gonna sit there silent
and we're not gonna go into Pyramid
and we're just gonna have a standoff,
trying to get Kelly back.
[tense music]
- So ladies, have you recovered from your weekend?
I don't know what these moms are trying to pull on me.
I'm polite, I'm trying to have a conversation,
and they won't say one word to me.
What is going on?
Girls?
Come on, I wanna get going for the Pyramid.
Where are you? Girls?
This is ridiculous.
I just saw the moms at the front desk a few minutes ago
and where are the girls?
I don't know what's going on,
but if they're trying to piss me off, mission accomplished.
The moms and the girls have disappeared.
Poof! Be gone.
There's people standing in the parking lot.
Is that, someone sitting on the ground like a dog?
- Melissa.
- Really?
I am tired of this.
The moms are outside in my parking lot, I've had it.
I'm gonna go out there and find out what's going on.
Ladies, what's going on?
I'm waiting to do the Pyramid.
I've been waiting and waiting and waiting.
Ladies, what's going on?
Holly, something has to be going on,
or you would never be so rude to me personally.
You guys are having a, what is it called? A sit-in?
If you're doing this for Kelly, you're a fool.
This is completely unprofessional.
Do you think that your kid's gonna go on
and work professionally after this behavior?
That's ridiculous.
- [Christi] When Abby comes out, it's like
the scene from Jurassic Park.
We're all sitting in our cars
and like, here comes the Tyrannosaurus Rex.
Holly's not moving, but I'm thinking, thank God, Holly,
because they can sense movement.
I'm over it, something's gotta change.
- See what happens to people?
You do all this crap for their kid,
you get them to win a national championship,
and then they (bleep) all over you.
They start when they're three years old,
they don't know their right foot from their left,
their kid becomes a star, they're winning titles,
and the parents suddenly think they know something more.
Let's go, let's get on the phone.
We have to replace all these kids.
- We were determined to prove Abby wrong,
so we set out to do our own show.
- I'd like to know where the people are.
- Everybody into your spots. Let's go!
We're gonna run out of time, guys.
[plucky banjo music]
- You can't look confused there, Clo.
- No, you guys are all off.
- Find a window.
No one should be behind anybody.
- Do a pose at the end.
- Despite our less than stellar coaching,
the girls did their usual best.
[upbeat music] ♪ Come to life
- But in the end, it just wasn't the showstopper
we were hoping for.
- Woo, yeah!
- [Holly] Revealed a lot.
The girls need discipline.
They need a dance teacher.
And it wasn't up to the standards that we're used to.
- You did it!
You did it!
- [Christi] A few days later, we went back to Pyramid,
but we did bring Kelly with us.
So I say, we were at the top of the Pyramid.
- Are we being invited in? Can we come in now?
- If you wanna come, the door is open.
- Alright, let's go. - I'll come in.
- So, that's it for me and this Epic Pyramid Pandemonium.
And just like so many moms that threaten to leave the ALDC...
- I'm leaving, goodbye.
- Let's go, we're going home right now.
- You can credit me for the rest of my tuition.
- You know I'm coming back.