Yesterday: The Radiant Katherine Heigl

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'Being a child model was brutal': Katherine Heigl tells Anderson Cooper after she slams 'demeaning' US reality show, Dance Moms

By Amelia Proud

Last updated at 8:55 AM on 2nd February 2012

Katherine Heigl says her work as a child model was 'brutal.'

Before being discovered as an actress, the star used to work her charm in campaigns for American department store Macy's and the Sears chain.

The blonde beauty explained that as a child she didn't enjoy fashion shoots because she found the poses embarrassing.


'Oh my god, it was brutal,' she said in an upcoming episode of US talk show Anderson.

'You even understand it, even when you're 9, you're like, 'This is silly and lame' and they're like, 'No, no, it's adorable, do it.'

Luckily Katherine's talent for acting landed her a part in 1992 movie That Night and she went on to establish a solid career in TV and movies.

But even as a reluctant clotheshorse Katherine felt self-expression was important.



Recalling one of her fellow junior models, the mother-of-one said she got frustrated seeing the little girl simply repeating the same pose.

'She had one signature move," she gripes of another former child model. 'I was like, 'Let's shake it up, please!'

Continuing this theme, Heigl slammed Dance Moms on her iVillage blog for sending an inappropriate message to young girls.

The 33-year-old wrote: 'I watched with open-mouthed amazement as girls as young as seven were encouraged to dress provocatively and shimmy around a stage doing a dance performance that could just as easily been a burlesque routine.'



She reserved special criticism for the show's star, and chief instructor, Abby Lee Miller.

The mother of one added: 'I kept thinking all these girls were missing is a pole! I was also horrified by the way their instructor spoke to them when she felt they weren't up to snuff.'

The Grey's Anatomy alum also maintains that the show, which depicts the travails of dancers aged 7 - 14, is : 'Demeaning, belittling, and downright unkind.'

And then it came to the topic of how Miller, addresses the little girls.



Katherine, who has a three-year-old daughter, Nancy said: 'There is no reason to break anyone down in order to prepare them for inevitable disappointment or unkindness.

'There is no reason to diminish anyone's self-esteem in order to get them to try harder next time. Especially not a child's.'

But although Heigl doesn't agree with the young girls parading their bodies on stage, she explains it's not their fault and they possess great talent.

She said: 'The young girls on Dance Moms are wonderfully talented, spirited ladies who should be encouraged to perform since they seem to truly have a knack for it...

Before adding: 'I just wish they were being inspired, instructed and supported for their gifts as I was when I found my creative path.'