Maddie Ziegler Apologizes for Re-Surfaced ‘Racially Insensitive’ Videos
Maddie Ziegler has apologized for past "racially insensitive" videos she made when she was approximately nine years old.
The Dance Moms alum shared a letter via Twitter on Tuesday (August 4) in which she addressed her past actions and the people she may have hurt.
“There are a few videos some of you have seen from when I was about 9 years old where I thought it was funny to mock people and accents,” she began. “I’m honestly ashamed and I’m truly sorry for my actions.”
Ziegler explained that she would not make the same decisions today and that she has grown up since the incidents which took place around the filming of the hit dance reality show.
At just 8 years old, Ziegler began filming Dance Moms before becoming a professional dancer and social media star.
“What I thought was silly humor when I was younger, I know was actually ignorant and racially insensitive,” she added. “We have all made mistakes in our lives and as we grow up, we educate ourselves and learn to be better people.”
She added that being in the public eye came with a responsibility to set a good example and that those videos did not do that.
“I hope you will forgive me and also hope you realize I have in fact grown up and would never act this way now,” she wrote, acknowledging that she hopes people can learn from her mistakes.
Ziegler concluded her letter by asking everyone to not defend her or her past actions and to be kind to one another.
See the tweet, below.