'Dance Moms: A New Era' sparks backlash over JonBenét Ramsey-inspired dance routine: 'Gross and sad'
A new episode of "Dance Moms: A New Era" is raising eyebrows.
In episode 8 of the Hulu series, "Glo Don’t Give with Both Hands," 11-year-old dancer Ashlan is assigned a dance routine inspired by the tragedy of JonBenét Ramsey.
The child beauty pageant winner was murdered Christmas Day 1996 at age 6.
The dance routine was assigned to Ashlan by dance coach Gloria "Glo" Hampton, who informed the child Ramsey was "a glitz pageant queen," Entertainment Weekly reported. According to the outlet, Glo leaves it up to Ashlan and her mother Lisa to research "everything" about Ramsey.
The outlet noted that Lisa, who’s eager for her daughter to make it to nationals, gives Ashlan a timeline of Ramsey’s murder investigation.
"Oh my gosh, this is really not for me, but I'll do anything for the win," Ashlan is quoted as saying.
Hampton is seen coaching Ashlan, saying, "Remember, it's a really sad, tragic story."
"So you're playing this young child who was put on display at all these pageants, and your parents want this fame and stardom for you. But is that what they really want?" said Hampton, as quoted by the U.K.’s Daily Mail.
Ashlan performed the shocking sequence, at one point placing her hands around her neck. Ramsey was found strangled to death.
Ashlan ended up taking fourth place.
"I kinda know how JonBenét felt," she told her mother at one point, as quoted by Entertainment Weekly. "I’m never good enough."
Many viewers took to social media to express their disgust over the controversial performance.
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"It was extremely disturbing," one person wrote on Reddit. "I feel with cases like Jonbenet and Gypsy Rose where the cases are incredibly public, several documentaries and movies made about them…people start to blur the lines and forget these are actual real life children.
"I think a dance about Jonbenet could never truly be done in taste," the user shared. "Simply because there is no happy ending, it’s just emphasizing a horrific murder of a child. They could’ve easily done a beauty pageant routine without exploiting Jonbenets murder."
"The worst part to me was Ashlan’s mom sharing the entire story with her," another user shared. "It clearly upset her. I couldn’t believe how much Ashlan looked like Jon Benet."
"The dance didn't even remotely tell the story of JBR either," another user added. "Not even in the slightest!!!"
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"Yeah that ‘joke’ was gross and sad. Like that was a real little girl that happened to," one user wrote.
A spokesperson for Hulu did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
"Dance Moms: A New Era" is a reboot of the original "Dance Moms" series on Lifetime. "Dance Moms," which starred Abby Lee Miller, aired from 2011 to 2019.