A special Dance Moms: A New Era Routine has caused quite a stir on the Internet.

In episode 8 of the new reality spin-off titled “Glo Don’t Give with Both Hands,” Glo Hampton gives Ashlan a JonBenét Ramsey-inspired solo in which she is cast to portray the young beauty pageant contestant who was infamously murdered at just six years old.

Hampton asks Ashlan to research JonBenét to prepare for the number “Glitz”.

“I want you to know everything about her, everything about her family and everything about her tragic end, okay?” she asks.

Later, Ashlan’s mother Lisa tells her Ramsey’s story, emphasizing that she was “kidnapped and murdered.”

Ashlan says, “It’s going to be hard to act like a beauty queen. But you’re also going to act like you’re being strangled.”

When Lisa shows her more information about the late child beauty queen online, Ashlan is saddened by the story. Or as writer and editor Evie Nagy put it on X, “They filmed in real time as the excited lead actress read the story online, and you could see her soul dying.”

Lisa delves further into Ramsey’s gruesome, heartbreaking story, noting that there is “no explanation” for her death and that “a ransom note” has been discovered. She also points out that Ramsey’s parents were “sleeping in the house” when she was kidnapped.

Lisa notices her daughter’s excitement about the dance gradually “turning into negativity” as she learns more about the backstory. Ashlan finally adds, “Oh my God, this really isn’t for me, but I’ll do whatever it takes to win.”

With a spot at Nationals at stake, Ashlan is under a lot of pressure to perform the routine to the best of her ability, while Hampton reminds her that “it’s a really sad, tragic story.”

Ashlan enters the stage in a white dress, with blonde curls and a face full of makeup. At the end of the number, Ashlan leaves the stage with her hands on her neck.

After receiving criticism from Hampton, an angry Ashlan tells her mother, “I know pretty much how JonBenét felt. I’m never good enough.”

Those who tuned in to the new series voiced their opinions on the controversial number on a Reddit forum. While critics found the number “extremely disturbing” and “incredibly inappropriate and disrespectful,” others were confused as to how audiences were “supposed to conclude that it was about JonBenet Ramsey.”

“The dance did not remotely tell JBR’s story. Not in the slightest!!!” wrote another critic, among other things.

Some argued that “the worst part” was that Lisa “told her the whole story,” and someone claimed that at that moment she was “definitely more focused on being her friend than a real mother.”

To her horror, this number put Ashlan in fourth place.

Dance Moms: A New Era is streaming on Hulu.