Mama June Needs to Focus on Being a Better Mother

Reality junkies didn’t fall in love with Mama June because of her parenting skills. The popularity of the country-fried clan from Alabama started with Alana Thompson – aka Honey Boo Boo – and Mama June’s obsession with making her baby girl a pageant beauty queen. Introduced via Toddlers and Tiaras,Mama June was living vicariously through her youngest daughter, soaking up the attention bestowed on the family because of Alana’s precocious pout, chubby cheeks and larger-than-life personality. Alana was a favorite on the child pageant show – not because of the crowns or sashes she won, but because of her audacious tongue that wowed fans. The family, Mama June included, was a part of the package TLC invested in to capture Alana “Honey Boo Boo” Thompson for the 2012 debut of Here Comes Honey Boo Boo. The Thompson family antics played out like a weekly train wreck that audiences pitied but enjoyed watching nonetheless. From Mama June’s unhealthy relationships with men to the family’s extremely unhealthy lifestyle, the saving grace of the series relied heavily on the daughter’s love for their somewhat wayward mother.

Throughout the series, on TLC and later We TV, there were red flags surrounding the relationship between Mama June and her daughters, specifically Alana. Living vicariously through her youngest daughter catapulted Mama June to reality stardom. Without reality television, the Thompson family would’ve probably been like the hundreds of working-class families in rural Georgia struggling to make ends meet while raising children. Before Toddlers and Tiaras, the odds of the Thompsons coming into a financial windfall and fame would probably have seemed slim to none, but the magic of reality television made all things possible.

Mama June’s Romantic Relationships Wreak Havoc on Her Family

Popularity is by no means a solution for family conflicts but, although Toddlers & Tiara’s ended, production companies still believed Mama June and her country brood would produce ratings worth their weight in beans and cornbread. Mama June and her then-boyfriend, Eugene ‘Geno’ Doak, were arrested in 2019 and charged with felony possession of drugs and drug paraphernalia. Geno had an additional charge of domestic violence which landed him in additional hot water. Mama June’s love interests have been an ongoing source of toxicity extending beyond her own safety to that of her children.

In 2014, her relationship with registered sex offender, Anthony McDaniel, who was convicted of aggravated child molestation, resulted in the cancelation of Here Comes Honey Boo Boo. Alana’s sister, Anna “Chickadee” Caldwell allegedly accused McDaniel of molesting her when she was eight. Mama June acknowledged knowing something inappropriate had happened between McDaniel and Anna, but begged her daughter not to bring up the past.

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The 2014 revelation caused a ripple effect of criticism and Mama June collapsed under the pressure, admitting that she’d been involved with another convicted sex offender in the early 2000s. Mama June acknowledged in an interview with Entertainment Tonight later that same year that the father of her two daughters, Pumpkin and Jessica, was a convicted sex offender who served time for sexual exploitation of minors after being caught on To Catch a Predator in 2005.

After learning of sister Chickadee’s cancer diagnosis, the Thompson family attempted to come together to console one another. Her daughters agreed to put Mama June’s numerous indiscretions, run-ins with the law and her past behavior of prioritizing romantic relationships with abusive partners before her daughters behind them. Again, reality television producers believed there was some revivable magic in the outrageous behavior Mama June presented to the audience. The network ditched Mama June from Hot to Not and instead re-branded the series as Mama June: Family Crisis. We TV signed off on the 2024 season and in March, rumors began flying that Alana was accusing her mother of stealing money earned while she was a child star, that was supposed to be earmarked for her college tuition.

Mama June Continues to Disappoint Her Daughters

Instead of acknowledging she’d spent the money, Mama June attempted to slight her daughter’s ambition. She questioned Alana’s commitment to pursuing her education. Instead of taking responsibility for her irresponsible behavior during her struggle with drug addiction, Mama June chose to point out Alana’s weaknesses and attempted to suggest she may not be fully committed to pursuing a college degree. After attempting to point a finger at Alana’s inability to follow through with a college education didn’t work, Mama June turned her attention to her older daughter Lauryn and her husband.

She tried shaming the couple by suggesting they weren’t contributing to their sister’s future. Lauryn voiced her dismay to her husband but refused to fall for Mama June’s emotional manipulation. It didn’t take long for the family to see through Mama June’s mind games and realize she’d squandered Alana’s college tuition to the tune of $30,000 on drugs and on buying frivolous trinkets for her boyfriend. Lauryn’s husband, Josh, was speechless by Mama June’s lack of concern for her daughter’s future. “You know, after the amount of s— that June has put Alana through, you figured she would want to pay for the entire college or at least pay for semester or two, but, like, nope,” he says in an interview. “I don’t see her voluntarily chipping in nothing. It’s selfish, you know, is what I’m saying,” he remarked.

Alana begrudgingly acknowledged she felt betrayed by her mother’s actions, although it was clear the truth hurt her more than she wanted to admit. The season of Mama June:Family Crisis addresses Mama June’s inept parenting, but the audience is forced to offer her grace as she deals with her oldest daughter’s cancer diagnosis. As the family prepares for Anna’s transition, the conversation turns to who will have custody of her daughter Kaitlyn. Although she has proven to be an unfit mother to her own daughters time and time again, the sisters have empathy for their mother and her belief that she would be the best caretaker for Kaitlyn.

For Alana, the money earned while she was a minor is gone and cannot be replaced. The sisters agree Mama June’s actions were immoral, and perhaps unethical, although they wouldn’t qualify in a court of law as illegal. The emotional divide between Mama June and Alana continues to widen, although Alana visibly struggles to grant her mother grace and empathy. It’s not hard to assume the family’s internal struggle with Mama June’s priorities and misjudgment are far from over. If We TV grants the Thompson’s another season, the dysfunction between Mama June and Alana along with the rest of her siblings is certain to continue playing out for public consumption.

Mama June: From Hot to Not and Family Crisis can be streamed on Hulu.

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