A particular Dance Moms: A New Era The routine has generated some controversy online.
In Episode 8 of the new reality spin-off, titled “Glo Don’t Give with Both Hands,” Glo Hampton assigns Ashlan a JonBenét Ramsey-inspired solo, in which she would play the young beauty pageant contestant who was infamously murdered at just six years old.
Hampton asks Ashlan to research JonBenét in preparation for the number, called “Glitz.”
“I want you to know everything about her, everything about her family and everything about her tragic end, okay?” he asks.
Later, Ashlan’s mother, Lisa, explains Ramsey’s story to her, noting that “she was kidnapped and murdered.”
Ashlan says, “It will be hard to pretend to be a beauty queen, but you will also have to pretend to be strangled.”
As Lisa shows her more information online about the late child beauty queen, Ashlan becomes saddened by the story, or like writer and editor Evie Nagy. I expressed it in X“They filmed in real time as the emotional protagonist read the story online and you could see her soul dying.”
Lisa goes on to delve deeper into Ramsey’s gruesome and heartbreaking story, noting that there was “no resolution” to her death and that “a ransom note” was discovered, and highlighting that Ramsey’s parents “were sleeping in the house” when she was taken.
My 9 year old daughter discovered the new Dance Moms series and I didn’t think I could be surprised by any of this shit, but they are doing a routine based on THE JEANBENET RAMSEY CASE. They filmed in real time as the emotional protagonist read the story on the internet and you could see her soul dying.
— Evie Nagy (@EvieN) August 18, 2024
Lisa notices her daughter’s enthusiasm for dancing gradually turning to “negativity” as she learns more about the backstory. Ashlan eventually adds, “Oh my God, this really isn’t for me, but I’ll do anything to win.”
With a spot at Nationals on the line, the pressure is on Ashlan to perform the routine to the best of her ability, as Hampton reminds her that “it’s a really sad, tragic story.”
Ashlan walks on stage in a white dress, blonde curls and a full face of makeup. At the end of the number, Ashlan walks off stage with her hands around her throat.
After receiving criticism from Hampton, an upset Ashlan tells her mother, “I kind of know how JonBenét felt. I’m never good enough.”
Those who tuned in to the new series enjoyed it very much. Reddit Forum to express how they felt about the controversial number. While critics found the routine “extremely disturbing” and “incredibly inappropriate and disrespectful,” others were confused as to how the audience was “supposed to deduce that this was JonBenet Ramsey.”
“The dance also didn’t even remotely tell JBR’s story. Not even in the slightest!!!” wrote another critic.
Some argued that “the worst part” was that Lisa “told her the whole story,” while one person claimed that at the time she “was definitely more focused on trying to be her friend than being a real mother.”
To her dismay, that number earned Ashlan fourth place.
Dance Moms: A New Era is streaming on Hulu.
