Dance Moms

Abby Lee Miller endured a painful nightmare when a hotel door fell over on her, crushing her for nearly a dozen minutes ... according to the lawsuit she just filed.

The "Dance Moms" maven says she was staying at the Hampton Inn & Suites in Santa Monica back in August 2020 when she wheeled herself into the bathroom of her room. Remember, Abby's been in a wheelchair since 2018 due to her lymphoma battle.

In docs obtained by TMZ, Abby says she was leaving the bathroom when her back left wheel got caught under the sliding bathroom door -- and when she attempted to free herself, the more than 300-pound door came crashing down. She says she was pinned in her wheelchair and trapped in the doorway for 6 to 12 minutes.

According to the suit, Abby screamed for help until 2 hotel staffers came to lift the door off of her. She was taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital, and Abby says she's still going through physical therapy for the injuries she suffered to her head and shoulder.

The alleged falling door would've been more than enough trauma, but in the docs, Abby says she endured other hardships during an extended stay from March to October 2020. For instance, she claims the laundry room was not accessible to wheelchairs, her hallway was often blocked by housekeeping carts ... and she was unable to open doors to the pool or gym areas, presumably due to her disability.

Abby is suing the hotel's parent corporation for negligence, emotional distress, discrimination and false imprisonment ... and she's seeking compensation of at least $8.5 million.

Abby Lee Miller says her dancing tip for Britney Spears was well-intentioned, and she thinks Brit would understand ... and Abby's offering more advice if she wants it!

The "Dance Moms" star tells TMZ ... she loves Britney and just wants her to be her best, which is why she critiqued the singer's video with "Close your rib cage!" ... a recommendation she says is pretty basic stuff in the dance world.

Abby explains she had much more to share, but decided to keep it simple because she knows Britney's going through a lot ... but she couldn't resist trying to help her a little bit.

Of course, Brit's fans didn't see it that way and went after Abby for her unsolicited advice ... but she insists she meant no harm.

Britney Spears is now the target of one of the harshest dance critics in the world ... Abby Lee Miller.

As you know, Britney posts lots of Instagram videos of herself dancing, but a clip she put up Thursday crossed the line ... at least it did for Abby, who couldn't hold her tongue, and commented, "Close your rib cage!"

The real shocker here? Plenty of people seemed to agree with Abby ... but yeah, lots more are defending Brit and coming for ALM.

For what it's worth, a closed rib cage is said to help dancers with movement, making transitions more fluid and with less effort.

While her approach in critiquing Britney might've been off ... it's hard to argue with Abby Lee's success when it comes to producing dance talent. Miller was certified by Dance Masters of America in the '80s and opened her own studio which later became "Dance Moms" ... which, of course, gave us JoJo Siwa and Maddie Ziegler.

A dancer who once appeared on "Dance Moms" has been arrested for sexual battery on 2 of his underage students.

25-year-old Kevin Cosculluela was arrested on multiple counts of sexual misconduct last week in Orange County, FL ... including sexual activity with a 16 or 17-year-old child. He's also facing charges of solicitation of a minor and lewd and lascivious conduct.

According to the arrest warrant, the guy allegedly abused 2 underage dance students in 2020, one of whom he's accused of engaging in oral sex ... and allegedly exchanging nude photos with the other.

In the docs, obtained by TMZ, cops say the alleged victims met Cosculluela at a dance studio called Peaches Dance and Music in Orlando -- where they claim he took them under his wing for private lessons.

Police say one of the girls claims things escalated between them -- they started talking more, and eventually moved things over to Snapchat. The girl claims he got her to his apartment and talked her into performing oral sex. She claims that happened twice.

The other alleged victim says things never got physically sexual with Cosculluela -- but does allege he solicited nudes from her, and that one time ... he got on top of her while they were clothed on his bed.

Both alleged victims claim he would become angry and verbally abusive whenever they refused his demands, and they were afraid of him.

Child star JoJo Siwa just confirmed she's part of the LGBTQ+ community -- but isn't quite ready to label herself with a letter just yet.

The former 'Dance Moms' star published a lengthy video Saturday, which pretty much hit the point home that she had, in fact, come out after much speculation these past few days. She says she's gotten tons of support, and has never been happier in her life to be her true self.

At one point, one of JoJo's fans asks how she identifies in terms of sexual orientation ... and she says she doesn't know yet. That's interesting to note, because everyone assumed she'd come out as gay ... mostly due to her own wardrobe, which literally had the word printed on.

JoJo showed off a shirt she received the other day, which reads ... BEST. GAY. COUSIN. EVER. Many took that as signaling, not to mention her lip-syncing to Gaga's "Born This Way."

It's a big deal, BTW. JoJo -- who's 17 years old -- has a massive audience with kids, so this is gonna reach them in some shape or form. Many think it'll help children be more comfortable with owning their sexuality, since one of their on-screen heroes now has.

Abby Lee Miller's spent enough time behind bars to write a celeb prison survival guide -- so Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin might wanna pay close attention here.

Abby was on "TMZ Live" Monday for the first time since she was sentenced to 1 year in prison after her conviction for bankruptcy fraud. She got out in March 2018 after serving 8 months ... so we asked her what Felicity -- who already pled guilty -- should expect on the inside.

Check out the vid ... Abby admits being a celebrity had its benefits for her -- and says inmates ate up her Hollywood stories, and she suspects they'd do the same for Felicity.

The downside of fame while in prison? Abby says it's the corrections officers, and it's a major downside ... based on her experience. Watch, you have to see her vivid description of one particular run-in.

As you know, prosecutors want Felicity -- and also Lori, if she's convicted -- to do hard time for their role in the college admissions scandal. Of course, it's not like either woman would end up in a maximum security prison.

Abby Lee Miller's not letting her battle with cancer slow her down ... or keep her cooped up inside.

The "Dance Moms" star got some fresh air outside her rehabilitation center on a hot summer day in L.A. Tuesday. She recently completed her fifth round of chemotherapy to treat Burkitt lymphoma ... which she was diagnosed with in April.

Abby's not been shy about keeping fans posted on her progress, either ... including recovery updates and photos from her back surgeries.

She's also revealed she's due for 6 cycles of chemo to fight the rare form of non-Hodgkins Lymphoma ... so she's approaching the finish line.

Former "Dance Moms" star Nia Sioux's crossover into scripted TV on "The Bold and the Beautiful" is keeping her pockets deep now that she's no longer on the dance competition reality show.

We got ahold of her minor's contract for the soap opera and Nia, who's 16, is making $2,500 per episode. She's already appeared in 6 episodes this year.

Unclear how long her story arc will run but, if she does return next season, her rate goes up to $2,800.

Abby Lee Miller has a big fight ahead of her, because her recent health struggles are believed to be related to cancer ... TMZ has learned.

A rep for Miller's doctor, Dr. Hooman Melamed, tells us ... her emergency back surgery Tuesday was to alleviate what he thought was an infection in her spine, but after doing some tests -- he now believes she is suffering from Burkitt Lymphoma ... a form of non-Hodgkins lymphoma.

We're told further testing is needed to confirm the cancer, but she should know for sure in the next day or 2. Regardless, Miller's doc says she'll need another spinal surgery, but is resting comfortably after her first operation.

When we last saw Abby ... she was leaving the halfway house where she is serving the rest of her sentence for fraud to get medical treatment. She was visibly upset and appeared to be in pain.

She's scheduled to be released from the halfway house May 25.

Abby Lee Miller is halfway back to normal on the heels of her prison release -- 'cause she just got her nails done on the outside for the first time in almost a year.

Abby was spotted Thursday hitting up Pampered Hands -- a nail salon in WeHo -- just a couple days after being transferred to an L.A.-area halfway house to finish her sentence.

Abby Lee Miller has gone from the big house to a halfway house for her last couple of months of incarceration ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell us Abby has been transferred from the Victorville, CA prison where she's been since last July. She's now at a facility called the Residential Reentry Center. You could say she's in the homestretch -- she's scheduled to be released May 25.

We're told the facility will provide the "Dance Moms" star with a safe, structured and supervised environment where she'll be given employment counseling, job placement and financial management assistance. Something tells us Abby will have no problem finding a TV gig when she gets out.

Abby was indicted on 20 counts of fraud after prosecutors say she hid $755,000 in income from the government. She was sentenced to a year in federal prison.

Prison's definitely changed Abby, at least physically. She's said to have dropped 100 pounds since entering the pen last July.

Ex-"Dance Moms" star Maddie Ziegler's been living a nightmare for 5 months ... and she's finally had enough, because she just got cops involved.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... Maddie's family filed a police report with LAPD, telling cops someone hacked Maddie's phone back in September. The hacker's been hitting up 15-year-old Maddie, saying he or she's gotten a hold of pics and messages.

We're told LAPD's investigating, but here's what's a bit bizarre -- sources say the hacker hasn't demanded money and neither the pics nor messages have been released ... at least so far. It's unclear what the hacker wants.

Ex-"Dance Moms" star Mackenzie Ziegler is firing back at a music producer who sued her, saying the guy's a fraud who never paid her for her tunes ... and she's laying the blame on Abby Lee Miller.

Mackenzie and her mom, Melissa Gisoni, countersued Kismet Music and its head honcho, Andrew Logan, after Kismet sued the 13-year-old a couple months ago. Kismet claimed she allegedly broke her contract by working with another producer.

In new docs, obtained by TMZ, Mackenzie's attorneys say the only reason she signed with Kismet was 'cause Abby told her it was a bonafide hit maker. The docs also claim the now-jailed Abby strong-armed Ziegler and her fam into it.

Abby is not a defendant in Mackenzie's suit.

As for Kismet saying she owes them dough ... Maddie Ziegler's little sis calls BS on all fronts. She claims Kismet and Logan have none of the accolades Abby hyped, and claims they've grossly underpaid her for the music she's already recorded.

Mackenzie wants the rest of the money she says she's owed ... and her Kismet contract axed.

Abby Lee Miller's slipping into something comfortable, like a prison jumpsuit right about now ... as she begins her prison stretch.

Abby's attorneys tell us she checked in around noon at the federal facility in Victorville, CA. The former "Dance Moms" star is now on day 1 of her 366 day sentence. A Lifetime camera crew -- reportedly shooting a news special on her sentence -- followed her as she went behind bars.

We're told she was pretty nervous as she arrived for processing. She could be out within 10 months.

Unclear how long it will take her to get squared away in her cell ... but we know this: meal time is gonna be a culture shock for Abby.

Abby Lee Miller's putting a good spin on going to prison ... free rent!!!

The former "Dance Moms" star was yukking it up with the paps Monday night leaving Craig's ... and we gotta say, she looked pretty damn chill for someone who is 1 day away from reporting to prison for a year.

You'll recall she pled guilty to multiple fraud counts in connection with trying to hide $755,000 in earnings from the government. No word on what Abby's final meal was, but she's a fan of the bargain brands.

Abby Lee Miller's time as a free woman is winding down, but at least she knows exactly what she wants to do -- and eat -- before she's locked up.

We got the former "Dance Moms" star leaving Catch in Weho Thursday night in pretty good spirits considering she's weeks away from going to prison for a year and a day for fraud.

Although she's leaving one of L.A.'s trendiest restaurants, Abby says she has her sights set on another spot for her last meal before the big house -- particularly one delicious menu item.