Next, we have
JoJo.
[tense music playing]
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.
[Jessalyn] She did a good job.
-She did a good job. -[Abby] Keep telling her.
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--
[Jessalyn] No, we're not gonna do it.
I'm not gonna have her be scared for the next six months
because she watched the movie you wanted her to watch.
We did the dance. We watched the trailer.
I told her what it was about.
[Abby]
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 need to be a part of the Abby Lee Dance Company.
[dramatic music playing]
Can you put her picture back up?
She deserves to be on the pyramid.
-She was in the group dance. -She deserves nothing!
Don't have an attitude that you are entitled in this world!
You are not!
You deserve nothing else!
You earn it. You can't stand here and cry.
I want no-- No, no, no, no, no crying children.
None.
Well, if you yell at me, I'm gonna cry.
-Get out. Go. -[Jessalyn] Let's go.
-Okay. -[Abby] Go.
Let's go. We're going home right now.
[dramatic music playing]
My kid would never do that.
See, this is where I think the mothers are 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.
It's just her.
Because you talked back to her.
No, because her kids don't talk.
They're gonna cry.
[Jessalyn]
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.
Just say you're sorry.
Because you're a bigger person than she is.
-You're back? -Yup.
-[Abby] Why? -Sorry I didn't watch the movie.
That's taking the high road.
Okay, but wait, you just cut into why she was saying
how good Kendall just did.
-Right. I mean, that's like-- -Could you wing it?
-Thank you, Abby. -Jeez!
-So, Kendall, great job. -Thank you.
[Abby] This is called "It Girl."
The music's a little bit different.
So it's sassy and it's fast and it's fun.
The music talks about a sassy, swanky,
fun-loving "it" girl.
Somebody who's ahead of her time.
And that's Kendall.
Ball change up.
Up.
[Jill]
You know what?
This is Kendall's year to get something.
What did I tell you ten times?
Don't step in front of yourself.
You can see how pigeon-toed you are.
Step to the left.
I feel like I'm dealing with a five-year-old.
Why are you not continuing the turn
and roll to the floor and leap over your hand?
It's the same thing. Do it.
She's screaming.
[Abby]
during the break,
I kept hearing about Kendall.
She was always there. She was working really hard.
And I thought, "Wow, Kendall is going to be
a force to be reckoned with this season."
And I made the routine difficult.
Really, Kendall? Kendall!
You know what? You're done.
The people that were in here dancing
are a thousand times better than you.
Go somewhere else and work on it.
[Jill]
You almost have to get your heart and your mind
in a certain mode
to be able to work with Abby.
Oh, she's crying. Uh-oh.
-[crying] -What's wrong?
[Jill]
She told me to do the turn,
and I didn't hear her, and she yelled at me.
[Abby] Jill, I don't know what's going on, but...
-I don't either. -I have an empty room.
And I have 30 kids shoved into studio B, practicing.
I just gave you a combination,
and you couldn't remember it two seconds later.
That's not Kendall.
Time's up.
-[whispering] Okay, let's go. -That's what I mean.
She keeps being mean to me.
[Abby] A kid who's the only one that got a solo
shouldn't be up there crying.
She's right. You shouldn't be crying.
However, you are.
[Abby]
She's nine years old,
and she's sitting upstairs on her mother's lap, crying.
-What is going on with your kid? -[Jill] I don't know, Abby,
-but you can't say that to her. -[Abby] Wait a minute.
I can say whatever I want.
[Jill] Well, then you can't expect her to perform for you.
[Abby] The triple coupe that she used to do,
that we worked on,
to the developpe, to the inside arabesque.
She couldn't do it.
She couldn't remember what she just did.
Then she goes upstairs and is crying like a baby!
[Jill] Of course she's crying.
Because she told me how her feelings were hurt.
Oh! You know what? I gave it to her.
-She had the time. That was it. -[Jill] All right.
I can't-- You know what? We can't compete!
I'm pissed off at Abby
because Kendall still has all that fire in her belly
and all that potential,
and I need Abby to see that again.
My goal is to get Kendall at the top of the pyramid,
and I want Kendall to be a star.
We can't compete with that here!
[Abby] Next!
Get Mackenzie and tell her to come in here.
So, sit down.
Slump.
There you go. That's Mackenzie.
Okay, show me what you have.
♪ Been a terrible, horrible, no good, bad day ♪
[Abby]
"I Just Want to Sit on the Couch and Eat Chips."
She's lazy.
Mackenzie technically should dance like an 11-year-old.
It's the legs not being straight,
the feet not being stretched,
the arms not being properly placed.
So this routine is gonna push that kid to the next level.
It's gonna make her a stronger dancer.
So get here and flex your feet up in the air.
Go ahead.
I keep almost getting kicked. Why am I almost getting kicked?
If your legs are there and they're going that way,
why is your alignment so bad that you're coming back to me?
That's what you're screwing up every time.
Come on. If this was your sister,
we would be halfway finished with the number.
Well, she's not. Her name's Mackenzie,
and she's not Maddie, so whatever.
And what's the name of your dance?
It is called "I Just Want to Stay at Home and Eat Chips."
No. She can't even remember the name of the dance.
"I Just Want to Sit on the Couch and Eat Chips."
Hence, the couch.
Is this not a couch? It could be a sofa.
Could be a love seat.
No.
I thought it was, "I Just Want to Stay Home and Eat Chips."
All I want to do is just stay home and eat chips.
No.
So the little smartass is trying to tell me
that that's not the quote that she said, that we're wrong.
I'm not gonna have Abby be mean to my daughter anymore.
I can't do it. Abby's not perfect.
That's for [bleep] sure.
Abby, why'd you call Mackenzie a smartass?
Because she's trying to contradict me about--
No, she said, "I thought it was
'I Want to Stay at Home and Eat Chips,'"
because that's what I thought it was too.
You don't have to call her a smartass.
Well, but you didn't hear the way she said it.
Okay, but I don't think you should call her a smartass.
I'll never call her anything again.
She said other kids would just remember it in two minutes.
And she's like, "Okay, we have 20 seconds done."
Just calm down.
Kenzie, you know how this goes.
She's just being mean and rude like she always is.
I just don't want to do it.
Abby needs to take something out on someone,
and she's taking it out on us.
But just leave my daughter alone.
She doesn't want to mess with me right now.
I know way too much.
I know so much stuff.
I hope she knows that.
Abby didn't give us her predictions yet
on who she thought was gonna win.
You know, honestly, it's like...
I can only do what she gives me,
so I'm just gonna make it my best
and hope that I come out on top,
because her words don't matter.
Abby's words don't matter and Abby's opinion doesn't matter?
Joanne and I run in a little bit of the same circles,
because we're both from New Jersey.
But I don't think Joanne's a team player,
and I don't know if Gia is either.
Those words, to me, are disrespectful to Abby.
You said that you can only do what she gives you?
Does that mean you don't really like your dance?
I love my dance.
But yesterday I thought you said she was crying
because you didn't like the dance.
It's not that she doesn't like the dance.
It's just, you know, Gia doesn't do sassy jazz.
Like, if she does a jazz dance, it has more strength to it.
It's not so pretty and sparkly, that's all.
It just seems really fake.
-All of it seems like really-- -What's fake?
Because it just seems so contradictory.
Like, you say one thing,
and then you're saying something completely different.
Her dance is like cheesy jazz.
And I'm her mom...
But you just said she loved it. That's what I'm saying.
You love it and Gia doesn't like it?
No, Gia-- We all-- Today, we all love it, right?
Because it's competition day.
It's like pointless to even speak.
Like, you love it, you hate it five minutes later.
You love it, it's cheesy five minutes later.
The truth is, it was hard.
And it's just an excuse--
Then you know what I think you should do?
Why don't you look up the definition of "perfect."
You'll see me and my kid, okay?
Because we come from the professional world.
All that matters is Gia goes out there and slays it,
and shuts you all up.
I think you're a confident woman.
I love that you speak from your heart.
I wouldn't say "confident." I would say "cocky."
And I think there's a difference.
[Michelle]
It feels like moms are piling on Joanne.
And Joanne's trying to stand up for her kid.
And sometimes kids don't use the right words.
This week, the group dance is extremely important to Abby,
so if she finds out what GiaNina said,
Abby's going to be pissed.
Soloists, I know you're putting your final touches in,
but come on up here.
Hannah, you need to dance
like it's the last time you will ever dance.
Because it just might be.
GiaNina, you have a sassy jazz dance.
So this should be easy peasy for you.
Have the same style and the same sass
and the same attitude you had in the trio
as the devil right now.
So that's what we need to see again.
-All right? -I love my dance,
and I feel that it also fits my personality well.
And I love all the tricks and things that are in my dance.
[woman] Okay, Joanne, seriously...
Okay. That's not what you've been saying all week.
-Wow, and all morning. -What?
What are you talking about?
That's the exact opposite of the entire conversation
of the week and this morning.
You actually called her dance cheesy jazz.
Yeah, she...
[stammers]
-Gia, great. -[Abby] I don't appreciate
some 13-year-old kid
talking about my choreography or Gianna's.
I don't want a brat on my team.
I do not raise brats.
And Gia's not a brat, so...
She just said before she actually doesn't care
about Abby's opinion or her words.
That came out of her mouth.
I am so frustrated that everything my daughter's saying,
Ashley and Stacey are twisting.
They're feeding it to Abby. It's ridiculous.
You're grown-ass women. Shame on you.
You said, "I don't care about Miss Abby's opinions or words."
Did I make that up?
Save your tears for the pillow, kid.
Wake up.
This is real life.
And you are not gonna talk about me behind my back,
or her.
We have raised winners.
Winner after winner after winner after winner.
And a child who dances for me with my name on your back
is gonna talk that way about anything at this studio?
No. No way.
All right, come on. We gotta go. We gotta go.
I mean, did I want her to get in trouble? No.
But at the same time, like,
I also don't want the rest of the kids
to think they can say whatever they want
and not be held accountable for it.
I feel bad because she's a kid,
but like at the same time...
Okay, girls.
Stop crying!
Stop it!
There are little kids that can't afford to take dance class.
There are children dying of cancer.
Do you understand that?
Is she really screaming in Gia's face?
I don't know whose face she's screaming at, but...
There are kids that don't have legs
that can't even dance.
You should be grateful for these opportunities.
You should be grateful that you have a mom and dad
that can put you into these things, and leave work,
and come and do this every weekend.
There's kids that are in pain,
kids that are being kept alive on a machine.
And you're crying?
You have issues at home, and you need to fix them.
[dramatic music playing]
I hope it's enough to win.
[announcer]
taking the stage right now
is GiaNina with "Rich Girl."
[cheers and applause]
♪ Ooh, you got it all ♪
♪
♪ All the riches in the world can't buy you love ♪
♪ No matter the cost ♪
♪
♪ It's getting lonely ♪
♪
-♪ Ah ♪ -♪ You've got to know ♪
♪
♪ But it won't last long ♪
♪
♪ All the riches in the world ♪
♪ Can't buy you love, true love ♪
♪
♪ Got it all, but it won't last long ♪
♪ All the riches in the world can't buy you love ♪
♪ True love no matter the cost ♪
♪
♪ Good love, got enough? ♪
♪ Had enough? ♪
♪ 'Cause you know enough ♪
♪ Is never enough ♪
[song ends]
[cheering and applause]
[announcer] All right, ladies and gentlemen.
Ready to start awards for Drop the Beat.
[GiaNina]
but I don't like when people twist my words.
You people give dance "moms" a bad name.
Stepping on kids, trying to get your kid ahead.
Who does that to a child?
Before they perform on stage?
You trying to sabotage my kid before she goes on stage?
Flapping your lips together?
There's a time and a place.
They'll get their punishment one day. Just wait.
[announcer] Our teen soloists.
We have in fourth place...
"Rich Girl."
-[applause] -Miss GiaNina.
So Hannah beat Gia.
I know you kind of dismissed her this week.
Gia felt dismissed before she even got a foot out there.
This is what I teach my daughter.
You take every opportunity you're given.
And Gia takes all her opportunities to the max.
Not this week. She sat there and cried about it.
She wasn't crying about her dance.
She was crying about she didn't even have a chance.
I disagree. I think she had as equal of a chance.
If Hannah would have been given the sassy jazz,
she would have gone out there
and she probably would have won second with that,
because that's Hannah.
[Joanne] Enough. We're done. My kid was upset enough.
And she moved on.
Because that's what we do.
Now, let's get to the solos.
-What happened today? -I'm sorry that I got fourth.
I know I can do better.
[sighs]
[tearfully] And I just wanted to apologize,
because I didn't mean to tell you
that I didn't like the solo
and didn't like your choreography.
That's not what I said.
My words were twisted.
And I'm so sorry that that happened.
But I know next time I will come out on top.
You are definitely in the doghouse.
If you're gonna be nasty, or feisty, or a brat,
do it on stage
when it counts.
When you're playing a part. Not in real life.
I will not have it, GiaNina. Will not have it.
And it's gonna come back to haunt you.
I explained that not everybody was gonna stay on this team.
And I had my thoughts of who was gonna go first.
It certainly wasn't you.
But now it's a different story.
[intense music playing]