As ‘Mama June’ Returns, See 6 Crises the Former ‘Honey Boo Boo’ Family Has Faced

Warning: The following post contains mentions of child molestation.

We TV’s Mama June is back with new episodes, as Season 8 premiered on March 13. And this time around, the reality show has reunited with its From Not to Hot subtitle, ditching the previous Family Crisis branding.

But we can hardly forget the family crises “Mama” June Shannon and her family have faced. The Shannon family rose to fame on Toddlers & Tiaras, a TLC docuseries that stoked viewer ire for its fixation on child beauty pageants, then starred in the TLC spinoff Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, which some critics considered derisive of working-class Southern culture.

But the family’s struggles were just getting started. Here’s a chronology of their controversies from the ensuing years.

2014: TLC cancels Here Comes Honey Boo Boo after Mama June Shannon is seen with a convicted child molester

In 2014, TLC canceled Here Comes Honey Boo Boo after Mama June was spotted spending time with registered sex offender Mark McDaniel, who had recently been released from prison after a 10-year-sentence for aggravated child molestation, according to CNN. Anna “Chickadee” Cardwell, Mama June’s eldest daughter, who died in 2023, also alleged that McDaniel molested her at age 8, according to Entertainment Tonight.

June told ET at the time that she had only seen McDaniel twice since his release — once coincidentally, and a second time at an arranged meeting since daughter Lauryn “Pumpkin” Shannon believed McDaniel was her father. “Since two months to almost six years, she knew nobody but him,” June said. “She was starting to resent Anna and she was starting to ask me questions. I can’t answer those questions for Pumpkin.”

2014: June admits to past relationship with another sex offender

In that same ET interview, June revealed that the biological father of Lauryn and Jessica Shannon is Michael Anthony Ford. ET reported at the time that Ford was a convicted sex offender who served time for sexual exploitation of minors.

“Jessica and Pumpkin have the same dad, but Jessica’s dad has had nothing to do with her over the years,” June said at the time. “So, why the hell would I open up that can of worms until today? I lied to my family and told them it was somebody else.”

2014: Anna alleges that June stole her money

At the end of that year, Anna told Dr. Phil that Mama June had stolen her reality TV earnings, leaving her with a $17.89 in a savings account and $15,400 — down from $30,000 — in a trust fund, per TMZ.

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June, for her part, said she spent the trust fund money on Anna’s expenses, including rent, mobile phone bills, and spending money. She later cashed out the trust fund early and sent Anna the remaining $15,400, as TMZ reported.

2018: Anna Cardwell promotes company with “Ebola-blocking” essential oil

In 2018, Anna got blowback after promoting products from Young Living Essential Oils, which was selling an oil the company said could block Ebola and help prevent cancer. The Food & Drug Administration had warned Young Living not to make the Ebola-blocking claims, according to TMZ.

2019: June is arrested for felony drug possession

The following year, June and then-boyfriend Geno Doak were arrested in Alabama and charged with felony drug possession and misdemeanor unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia. June was sentenced to 100 hours of community service, among other provisions, and Doak was sentenced to 16 months behind bars and two years of probation, according to TMZ.

2024: Alana Thompson accuses June of stealing her earnings

As viewers saw on Mama June: Family Crisis in 2024, Alana Thompson, the former beauty pageant contestant once known as Honey Boo Boo, accused mother Mama June of stealing more than $30,000 of her income. June maintained that she “legally put 20 percent” of the money into Alana’s Coogan account, a bank account set up for child performers.

June later told Entertainment Tonight that she used a portion of Alana’s Dancing With the Stars: Juniors and The Masked Singer money to pay for various living expenses. “That time was, like, honestly a dark place in my life,” June added.

Alana said, “I thought that 100 percent of that money was going into that account, so I thought once I got old enough that I could really sit on my a** for the four years that I’m in college because I worked so long. I worked, I was 6, and a lot of people cannot say that. So I worked really hard for what I have and the money that I have, so I was assuming or under the assumption she put 100 percent of the money in there, but that’s not how that worked. … I have been trying to get over it and trying to push through it.”

If you or someone you know is the victim of sexual assault, contact the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network’s National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). If you or someone you know is the victim of child abuse, contact the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child (1-800-422-4453). If you or a loved one are in immediate danger, call 911.

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