Aaaarrrggghhhh...I SWORE I wouldn't touch this thread with a 10 foot pole, but I just can't help it. I've followed this whole thread (and the first one that was locked) since the special first aired. And I've held my tongue, because I think most people are aware I'm definitely no member of the teal army.
The only thing I want to touch on is this: I find it very interesting that everyone is so adamant in saying that Maddie is just a teenager and people should remember that, but no one has mentioned that SO ARE HER TEAMMATES. No one seems to remember that this is a group of 35 other girls who are also still young, and at this age emotions are hard to keep a reign on.
You say this like it's the most awful thing in the world. Of course they're bitter and upset they didn't receive any credit for their involvement. Do they not practice just as much as she does? Did they not help win Worlds in 2010? Do they not show up with injuries and work through them? So yes, I think TEENAGE GIRLS might be hurt that they were brushed aside like back-up dancers in Maddie's show - "Maddie and her Senior Elites". Is it necessarily Maddie's fault? I have no idea - I don't know the girl, but I'm inclined to think in this case, no, not her fault. I think about 99.9% of the people on here don't know her, so none of us are really qualified to say whether or not she actually feels any particular way.
I would imagine that this is a group of 35 young ladies who've spent YEARS in Maddie's shadow. 35 young ladies who are just as much Senior Elite as she is. So instead of everyone acting so shocked that they reacted this way, and trying to figure out ways to make them not feel something that is perfectly reasonable and logical to feel...why not look into the fact that they've probably felt this way FOREVER...and this was just the straw that broke the camel's back for many of them. I sincerely doubt this is the first time they've had to deal with being made to feel like extras in a movie about Maddie. It has to be frustrating and horrible on a teenager's self esteem to know that no matter how hard you work, and no matter what you do you'll always just be on "Maddie's team". I don't think she has any control over any of this...but I think it's reprehensible for everyone on here to say these girls are horrible for expressing feelings that they've probably had bottled up for awhile now.
Was Twitter the best place for this venting of feelings? Of course not...but that's what teenage girls DO. They blast their feelings all over the internet first, think about the repurcussions second.