Free Republic

JoJo Siwa, the 17-year-old singer, dancer, actor and YouTube personality, has come out as gay, after alluding to it on social media in recent days... As a dancer, Siwa first shot to fame on the Lifetime reality series “Dance Moms” and soon skyrocketed with her fashion, accessories and music aimed at a young audience. She signed with Nickelodeon in 2017 and appeared in the TV movie “Blurt,” “Lip Sync Battle Shorties” and is the youngest contestant ever on Fox’s “The Masked Singer.”

Normalizing child sexualization did not start with 'Cuties.' The defensive reaction to it, however, just clarified the stakes for the future. A “story of a girl’s outrage at, and defiance of, a patriarchal order.” Those are words from The New Yorker’s glowing review of “Cuties,” a ghastly French film under fire for scenes depicting the sexualization of 11-year-olds.The review argued that, as the film was directed by an African-French woman, voicing disgust about it is racist. Sadly, in this criticism-of-the-criticism, The New Yorker isn’t alone. The Washington Post’s Alyssa Rosenberg is livid that “Cuties” faced such a massive pushback from...

This article includes clips of young children dressing and dancing sexually.At a time the left has declared that “silence is violence,” Michelle Obama’s silence on Netflix’s controversial movie “Cuties” has not gone unnoticed. It is also undermining her brand as “America’s mom” and chief defender of female empowerment across the globe.No one should doubt the considerable power former first lady Michelle Obama wields within Netflix or the unrivaled cultural influence she has to speak out in defense of preserving girlhood and innocence. Sadly, however, Michelle has a troubling history of celebrating, rather than denouncing, the sexualization of popular culture...

Former "Dance Moms" star Abby Lee Miller has been sentenced to a year and a day in prison for bankruptcy fraud and for taking $120,000 worth of Australian currency into the country without reporting it. A federal judge in Pittsburgh ordered Miller to pay a $40,000 fine and spend two years on probation following her release. Miller pleaded guilty in both cases last year.

"Dance Moms" star Abby Lee Miller pleaded guilty Monday to bankruptcy fraud and failing to report thousands of dollars in Australian currency she brought into the country. She was charged last fall with illegally trying to hide $775,000 worth of income from the Lifetime network reality show and spinoff projects during her Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Authorities later accused her of dividing more than $120,000 into plastic bags and having others in her group put the bags in their luggage in August 2014, violating a law requiring people to report bringing more than $10,000 worth of foreign currency into the country.

The Lifetime Television Network claims to be for women. Its mission statement claims: Lifetime Networks is a diverse, multi-media company, committed to offering the highest quality entertainment and information programming content that celebrates, entertains and supports women. Through its award-winning public affairs initiatives, the Company also advocates a wide range of issues affecting women and their families. Nowhere in their statement do they mention the well-being of little girls, so it should come as no surprise to anyone that this network would choose to produce an episode of a show called “Dance Moms” in which little girls are basically taught...