MAMA ‘BOO BOO’
In defense of ‘Honey’s’ coupon-loving, gas-passing mom
T HE breakout star of TLC’s “Toddlers & Tiaras” spinoff, “Here Comes Honey Boo Boo,” isn’t its mouthy redneck cherub.
It’s her mama. June Shannon has proven more divisive than her stomach-squishing, cheeseballmunching, beauty queen wanna be daughter, Alana Thompson — with fans and critics alike burning up the Internet to either applaud or deride Shannon.
Reality sites, including starcasm.net, have begun digging into Shannon’s past, publicizing her 2008 arrest (relating to a child support issue, according to Shannon) and an investigation by Child Protective Services.
Shannon, 33, has been called repulsive, abusive and a hoarder. In the show’s opening credits, she passes gas and laughs about it.
She claims to love extreme couponing more than sex. She has some sort of crust in her neck and unabashedly scratches the “bugs” in her hair.
But she’s not embarrassed about how she looks — and is proud of the fact that she only has “two or three” chins.
“I embrace my face,” she says with a grin.
Shannon has no shortage of haters. A YouTube video about her entitled “Worst Mom of the Year” has more than 6.7 million hits, and includes comments like “disgusting and noisy” and “kill it with fire.”
But it also includes its share of Shannon supporters.
“The woman is laughable which is no doubt why TLC wants to showcase her on TV,” writes “professor mom108” about the video. “But I don’t see that much that makes her the worst mom of the year. She’s ob viously an involved mother and genuinely cares about her kids.”
“I love Honey Boo Boo. Her mom is interesting and real too!” a fan named “fantasy sculpts” wrote under yet another YouTube video of Shannon. “I find June and Alana’s relationship charming and I see no malice. There are lots of people like them in the South — unpretentious, downtoearth, flawed and funny.”
For better or worse, Shannon is what she is — and makes no bones about it.
She seems to be in on the joke, living her life in the deep South without all the fakery, pretense and drama that consumes others in the reality world.
She also doesn’t seem concerned about maximizing her exposure at the expense of anyone else — especially not 6yearold Alana, the ostensible star of “Honey Boo Boo.”
“You like us or you don’t like us. We just don’t care,” Shannon says, sporting a knowing smile at all times and proclaiming she’s always going to support Alana — whether she wins or loses in her pageants.