Chloe Lukasiak wishes she had a “game plan” going into “Dance Moms” like JoJo Siwa.
Ahead of Wednesday night’s reunion special on Lifetime, the competition dancer-turned-reality star tells Page Six’s “Virtual Reali-Tea” podcast that Siwa had a leg up on the original cast because she was able to watch the unscripted hit as a fan before entering the fray herself.
“I kind of envy the people who watched it, created a game plan and then went on knowing exactly what they wanted to do,” says Lukasiak, who made her TV debut at 9 alongside mother Christi Lukasiak.
“Because, like I said, cameras came to us and then it was like, all of a sudden, the drama needed to be heightened.”
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Chloe’s “Dance Moms” narrative was often centered around her rivalry with co-star Maddie Ziegler, which she feels was “manufactured” by dance teacher Abby Lee Miller who often bludgeoned the former into thinking she was second best.
“At 9, I have no idea who I am. So if somebody else is telling me, ‘This is who you are, you’re second,’ then I’m like, ‘Oh yeah, I must be second.’ It was like a slow progression of the negativity I felt that was coming towards me,” recalls the Pepperdine University graduate, now 22.
“I think if I had come at it from a different angle and … been far away from it and then approach it, I think I definitely would’ve put some mental walls up. But I didn’t put any [up],” she elaborates. “I was completely vulnerable at all times.”
Notably, Siwa, now 20, joined “Dance Moms” in 2015’s Season 5, four years after it premiered.
The “Karma” singer recently revealed on Alex Cooper’s “Call Her Daddy” podcast that she knew exactly what she wanted out of the show from the moment she was cast — which was fame — even if it meant dealing with unrelenting criticism from Miller, now 58.
“I saw what she was like on TV and I somehow, as a kid, could always see the bigger picture,” she explained, noting that she was often placed at the bottom of Miller’s infamous “pyramid” ranking.
“I would be at the bottom of the pyramid and my mom would be pissed,” the former Nickelodeon actress said of her mother, Jessalyn Siwa. “She’d be so mad and she’d with all day on set about it and then we’d get in the car and she’d be, like, actually mad about it.”
But JoJo was grateful for any type of attention — negative or otherwise — as she knew it would translate into more screentime.
“The person at the top of the pyramid gets congratulations. The person at the bottom, though, gets the whole storyline of the TV show,” she remembered telling her mom. “And she was like, ‘How the f—k do you know that?’”
Miller recently admitted that she has regrets over being a bit tough on her students at times.
“No matter how harsh I was on the kid, they weren’t gonna get it,” the Abby Lee Dance Company founder said while filming an upcoming episode of ABC News’ “IMPACT x Nightline.” “They just didn’t have the talent.”
After two consecutive seasons as a full-time cast member on “Dance Moms,” JoJo signed a deal with Nickelodeon, for which she performed in various shows, released a discography and starred in her own feature film titled “The J Team” for the network.
Meanwhile, she developed an endless selection of merchandise for children — from bows and bedspreads to ice cream and crayons.
JoJo, like the rest of her “Dance Moms” counterparts — including reunion participants Chloe, Kalani Hilliker, Kendall Vertes and sisters Brooke and Paige Hyland — has transitioned into adulthood as best she can, even rebranding herself as a pioneer of “gay pop” after coming out as queer in 2021.
Chloe, for her part, studied creative writing at Pepperdine University and is in the early stages of penning her debut novel, which she tells Page Six has “nothing to do” with the dance world.
While she’s currently focused on flourishing as an author, the Elevé Dance Competition co-founder says a return to reality TV isn’t entirely off the table.
“Going back into reality TV,” she says, “honestly sometimes I feel like I could kill it.”
“Dance Moms: The Reunion” airs Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET on Lifetime.
