Question about the actual "Moms" of "Dance Moms"

Only ones I know for sure, are Sophia's mom (who is lovely), and Yolanda, who is as awful off the show is she is on.

Jill and Holly sure seem like pieces of work. Kira, tooZ

I would imagine that, even if they're not as bad off the show as on it, the show itself exaggerates their worst qualities and behavior until that's all they seem to be. It was somewhat believable in the first season, but only got less so with each passing season.

-I wonder if you can refuse to inherit the world.
-I think if you're born, it's too late.

I have had theatre teachers as bad as Abby and as a theatre teacher myself I have definitely seen moms as crazy and wacky as some of these. Granted my rehearsals don't have the moms in one room but I sure do believe some of them would act like this if it were the case.

The moms are told to do things to cause conflict by the producers. It's not scripted, but the producers tell the moms to say or do certain things to prompt drama - ie Christi always telling some mom to go downstairs and talk to Abby, then the mom actually doing it. Most of them have admitted they would never do either of those things unless the producers tell them to.

Some of the fights are real of course. These people are forced to be together for 40-60 hours per week so they're gonna get on each others' nerves. There were many tears and screaming matches that were clearly authentic.

The show was initially supposed to be more about the mothers - it was supposed to be like a "Real Housewives" type show and the moms were interviewed and the primary focus when everyone was selected and hired to star in the show. So these moms obviously had the desire to be in the spotlight. Several of the original moms have eluded to the fact that once everyone was hired and under contract, Lifetime sort of snuck in a lot of changes and some of the focus and treatment the kids ended up getting weren't really known by the moms when they were hired. It developed after they were already under contract and began filming.

It took me three hours to figure out that FU was Felix Ungar.

Obviously the conflicts are played up /set up for the show.

But even with that being said, a lot of women do act like this toward each other in any group or community in which they are pushed together for some reason. I'm a woman but even I will admit, women are bitches to each other when not feeling restrained by the presence of men in the same group.

With men in the balance, they rein it in more. But among themselves they tend to be the worst people they can be to each other.

You see it in all-female online communities too.

As for Abby, there are people in real life exactly as abusive and toxic as she is, yes. I worked for a woman who was almost a clone of Abby in every way. She was fiery and abusive in a way no boss is supposed or allowed by law to be today. It was the worst experience of my working life and she actually threatened me against filing a complaint against her.