Honey Boo Boo’s Lifetime documentary is releasing soon and all anyone wants to know is where she stands with her enigmatic mother, Mama June.
It’s been a minute since Alana Thompson captured the hearts of Americans at the tender age of 5 with her iconic line, “A dollar made me holler, honey boo boo.” On that fateful pageant, Thompson didn’t just get a new nickname. She got an entire TLC TV show and a little drama to boot. Now, at 19, with a world of experience and transformation under her belt, she sat with People as the cover star and discussed her relationship with her mother, among other things.
In the candid interview, Thompson shares that she always wanted to be authentic, so reality TV was just a natural evolution for her. She says she always wanted to be herself, even if that meant filming in her pajamas. But almost immediately, she starts talking about her mother.
Mama June, who is no stranger to having public differences with her family, was always a little bit out of touch, according to Thompson. She shared that as soon as they got famous, Mama June was always saying how they didn’t have to work anymore. Apparently, Alana never saw a dime from her earnings from her stint on Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, implying that the money was all wasted by her mother on her addiction. Something even Thompson, who was probably just a tween at this point, saw as the wrong mindset.
When talking to the publication, Thompson was forthcoming about being nervous about discussing her various family turmoils — specifically, her mother’s toxic spiral. “I did not want this movie to be throwing punches at my mama and making her out to be the bad guy,” she added. “But I didn’t hold back and if she gets mad, at the end of the day it’s the truth.” Reportedly, in 2019, when Mama June was exhibiting concerning behavior on stages and towards her family, she was experimenting with crack cocaine.
“I noticed something was off about her,” Thompson recalled about her mother’s behavior. “She started locking her doors, which really made me think, ‘Oh, what is she doing?’”
Mama June went on to be arrested for drug possession with her then-boyfriend. And the blowback certainly got back to Thompson and her siblings. And although she was still in school at that point, Thompson refused to let that story define how she carries herself. She decided that her life was bigger than the drama her family life fuels, and she focused on graduation and got her wish in 2023. And despite Thompson still having drawbacks and doubts about her mother stealing from her earnings from the show, she’s now focused on her nursing studies.
The two are still at least cordial, even though Alana its she no longer harbors any expectations from her mother, because they are both still a part of the Mama June: Family Crisis. People tried to probe Thompson about how much money she lost exactly to her mother — with the publication citing one accusation from Thompson herself claiming her mother took her $35,000 pay from Dancing With The Stars — but all Thompson could say is you’ll have to tune into the next season of Mama June: Family Crisis.
Love it or hate it, Honey Boo Boo is the reason TLC is so beloved. Real people with real problems. They’ll never try to come off that they have figured it all out like the Kardashians. They may even have more problems than you bargain for when you tune in to their dramas. But they still just have a secure place in your heart no matter what.
Published: May 14, 2025 12:17 pm