The Big Picture
Mama June’s family rose to fame with outrageous antics on TLC.
The family faced scandal, addiction, and legal trouble, leading to show cancelations.
Despite ongoing family drama, new series on WeTV signal a movement away from dysfunction.
During the mid-2000s, there was a gaggle of reality personalities that became recognizable in pop culture because of their outrageous personalities or circumstances. Mama June and her family skyrocketed to cynical fame after her 6-year-old daughter Alana Thompson aka Honey Boo Boo became the breakout star on TLC’s Toddlers and Tiaras. Alana’s beauty pageant pursuit was chronicled on the show, and she quickly became a fan favorite with her sarcastic quips and hillbilly antics hailing from the extremely rural McIntyre, GA. TLC saw the audience’s response to the adorable tot and her over-the-top family and offered the family a television deal. ‘Here Comes Honey Boo Boo’ debuted on TLC in 2012 and was an instant hit.
The TLC audience couldn’t get enough of the country-flavored family with the huge personalities and cringe-worthy eating habits. From family nicknames like Chickadee and Pumpkin to watching June pour nearly a gallon of sugar into the family pot of spaghetti, audiences were horrified but extremely entertained. The matriarch of the clan, Mama June, naturally became the primary supporting role in the series, introducing viewers to her toxic love life and lackadaisical approach to parenting. June’s weight issues were often the topic of conversation among fans, but she appeared to be confident in her own skin, even though, according to any medical doctor on any day, she would’ve been labeled morbidly obese.
Honey Boo Charmed Viewers With Her Sassy Attitude
As Honey Boo Boo continued getting older and lost some of her childlike appeal, it was clear the beauty pageant world was no longer a fit for her. Aside from Alana quickly aging out of the cute chubby kid role and into the overweight and unpredictable teenager, there was a sexual assault allegation that forced the network to abandon the show prematurely. June’s love interest, Mark McDaniel, was convicted of aggravated child molestation and served a short stint in prison back in 2004. June denied the allegations, but to disconnect the network from the ugliness of any connection to a show centered around a child star being connected to an unsafe environment, the show was canceled.
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Years later, June’s daughter Anna aka Chickadee sat down for an exclusive with People Magazine and admitted she was molested as a child at the hands of McDaniel. Anna shared her heartbreaking story but insisted that June refused to admit any wrongdoing and even suggested her mother was still in touch with McDaniel. Anna held her mother accountable and eventually the two became estranged.
Mama June’s Addiction Has Been Long-Documented
Even with the negativity received from the child molestation allegations, the Thompson family left enough of a mark on fans that a new group of producers worked to find a way to resurrect the fans on a new network. By this time, June had finally come to terms with the fact that her obesity was dangerous and if she wanted to be around for her family she needed to do something about it. She decided to undergo weight loss surgery and execs saw the perfect opportunity to remain connected with the family’s fan base with a fresh new perspective. In 2017, We TV premiered, ‘Mama June: from Not to Hot’, documenting her 300lb weight-loss transformation while highlighting the family’s outrageous dynamic. By this time, Alana and her siblings were teens and moving into their own independence, allowing June to be the focal point of the show. Now a grandmother, June focused on trying to find herself as a desirable woman after raising her four children and giving them the lions’ share of her time. The attention from the weight loss and rediscovered fame proved to be overwhelming and in March 2019, Mama June was arrested along with her boyfriend Eugene “Geno” Doak for possession of a controlled substance. June was allegedly found with a crack pipe and cocaine on her. Her boyfriend was accused of domestic violence and drug possession. After the arrest, Alana was placed in the care of her older sister, Pumpkin.
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June returned to the series after dealing with her court case and this time focused the journey on remaining sober. The show highlighted candid conversations about her struggle with sobriety. At one point, June acknowledged having a $2500-a-day drug habit. The Thompson family continued experiencing tragedy as the eldest sister, Chickadee was diagnosed with cancer. After several years fighting the illness, she passed away at age 29 in 2023.
Mama June Has a Major Family Crisis
Through all their hardships, June seemed resigned to moving forward with the show even though the family bond had been broken numerous times. The show’s title has been changed to Mama June: Family Crisis and displays the aftermath of the family’s continued painful reality. Alana’s older sister, Pumpkin, was granted full legal custody of her and their relationship with their mother remains strained. In a recent clip, Alana and Pumpkin accuse June of stealing from the money Alana earned as a child star and spending it frivolously on herself. In one clip, Alana accuses her mother of spending more money on her husband Justin’s gold chains than on Alana’s college tuition, which the money was initially allocated to fund. During a confessional, Alana threatened to possibly take her mother to court to legally sue her over her missing funds. Pumpkin echoed her sister’s sentiment, saying that technically, her mother hadn’t committed a crime, but morally, she was wrong for using Alana’s money without telling her. Viewers realize the show isn’t filmed in real time as Alana is known to be attending college studying to be a nurse in Colorado on a scholarship.
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The trials and tribulations of the Thompson family have run like a consistent train wreck from TLC to WeTV over the last decade. With heavy familial topics such as morbid obesity, substance abuse, cancer and child molestation, it’s surprising that fans haven’t totally checked out on the franchise. What started as a fan obsession with a sassy yet adorable toddler morphed into a dysfunctional journey that often celebrated toxicity and even illegal behavior. The Thompson’s infamous journey on reality television should serve as a cautionary tale for producers looking to make money off of a family’s dysfunction at the expense of their humanity. It’s plausible that June’s $2500-a-day drug habit was financed through money earned because of her reality platform. It’s also possible to assume that without the bright lights of the camera, the family wouldn’t have had access to some of the issues they found themselves dealing with over the years.
Mainly, the continued reckless behavior exhibited by June and the supporting cast of adults on the series should never have been praised for the sake of ratings and popularity. June’s plastic surgery results quickly reversed over time because she didn’t take the necessary steps to change her diet. In comparison, much of the family’s toxic behavior has become magnified due to exposure to a national television audience.
Mama June: From Not to Hot and Mama June: Family Crisis is available to stream on WeTVWatch on WeTV