Alana “Honey Boo Boo” Thompson has been a reality TV fixture for the last 15 years, but she’s not reaping the rewards. Thompson, 19, recently told People that despite spending her childhood starring in multiple reality shows, she’s now struggling to pay her college tuition. The former child star, whose dysfunctional family antics made her family a reality TV mainstay in the 2000s, says there’s only one person to blame: her mother, “Mama June” Shannon. According to Thompson, her mother ran through much of the family’s TV earnings while addicted to crack cocaine, eventually selling their house and most of their belongings before getting sober in 2020. At the height of her addiction, Thompson claims her mother even took $35,000 of her paycheck for appearing on Dancing With the Stars. Though Shannon has since returned her daughter’s Dancing With the Stars money, Thompson says she’s never seen a check from her longest running gig, Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, which aired for five seasons on TLC. But she’s not dwelling: the pair have already started filming together for their next reality TV venture, Mama June: Family Crisis.
