Abby Lee Miller announced her departure from Lifetime’s “Dance Moms” in a heated Instagram post on Sunday.
The dance instructor wrote that she was quitting the show after being denied “creative credit” for her ideas and routines, and that she was “manipulated” by the producers of the reality series.
“For the past six years/ seven seasons I have asked, begged and even demanded creative credit for all the ideas, award winning routines, themes and costuming – to no avail!” she wrote.
“I don’t have a problem working with any kid, I love children and have dedicated my life to making other people’s children successful,” she continued. “I just have a problem with being manipulated, disrespected and used – day in and day out by men who never took a dance lesson in their lives and treat women like dirt!”
The announcement comes as the star of the Lifetime series awaits final sentencing in a bankruptcy fraud case. In October 2015, she was indicted on charges of concealing income in the amount of $675,000 from her stint on the Lifetime reality show in 2012 and 2013. During that same period, her dance studio filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Federal agents claimed Miller created bank accounts to conceal income she earned as an instructor on the show, which follows competitive young dancers and inevitably showcases conflicts between their mothers and Miller. In addition, Miller admitted to smuggling between $120,000 and $150,000 in Australian currency back into the U.S. without properly declaring it.
At a sentencing hearing in January, prosecutors urged the federal judge overseeing the case to sentence Miller to jail time.
See Miller’s full announcement below: