

Abby Lee Miller, who was was sentenced to a year in prison over bankruptcy fraud, has shared some “helpful tips” with the TMZ newsroom for “surviving prison.” She was released in 2018 after only 8 months, and because the experience has a profound reaction on her heart and soul, she’s here to share her story with the mothers of Operation Varsity Blues:
“You know, the girls in prison are some of the best people you are ever going to meet, seriously. They gave me the shoes off their feet, the clothes off their back- literally. And there’s not one of those dance mothers who would ever do that, not at all. And these were strangers! So, you’re a television celebrity and these women are your fans. They watch TV on a daily basis and they’re gonna want to know what it’s like to be on a TV show, and what it’s like to be an award winning actress. And going to all the events and premieres in Hollywood. And I think if you just befriend them, and you share your stories with them, then they’ll share their stories with you. And some of them are very interesting.”The mental image of Miller with a prisoners huddled around her as she tells them about the time she tried to bite the finger off a Dance Mom (who was attacking her) has permanently altered the course of my morning. After a TMZ host claims that “being a celebrity definitely helps in your favor,” she says “Well I think for them, because they weren’t depicted as some monster.” However, she further claims the true suffering came at the hands of the prison guards.
“It was rough. You give a person power, you give them a gun, a set of keys…they have the right to do whatever they want. Vandalizing your property, spilling drinks all over your clothing for the heck of it, knocking your belongings over, throwing them on the floor. […] One of the monsters said, ‘You can’t talk to me like you talk to those kids on television.’”
Who among us could’ve expected that Abby Lee Miller and Kim Kardashian would be the leading celebrity prison reform activists of our time. Are her claims that the abuse she suffered is due to her celebrity status both tone deaf and misplaced? Yes. Do I think she touched on a more universal experience inside women’s prisons (community and networks of communication)? Absolutely.