Alana ‘Honey Boo Boo’ Thompson Accuses Mama June of Squandering Her Reality TV Earnings: ‘Stole My Money’

Honey Boo Boo is all grown up. 

Alana Thompson became a reality TV sensation in the early 2010s, thanks to her memorable appearances on TLC’s Toddlers and Tiaras. Her vivacious personality and camera-friendly antics led to a spinoff series, Here Comes Honey Boo Boo. But eventually, the feel-good stories of a Southern family were eclipsed by their very real problems. 

In 2014, Here Comes Honey Boo Boo was canceled after it came out that Alana’s mother, Mama June Shannon, was in a relationship with a convicted sex offender. The family later returned to TV in WeTV’s Mama June: From Not to Hot. But in 2019, Mama June was arrested on drug charges, leading the show to be rebranded as Family Crisis. 

Alana ‘Honey Boo Boo’ Thompson says her mom stealing her money was her ‘breaking point’ 

Amidst all the upheaval, Alana was growing up – and beginning to wonder what had happened to all that money she had supposedly made from her various TV appearances. Soon, she found out that June had pilfered the funds while in the throes of her drug addiction. 

“I was dragged through a lot,” Alana, 19, said in a recent interview with People (via YouTube). “I think my breaking point of like, ‘Nope, I’m done with her’ is when she stole my money.” 

“Which is so crazy to say. Eighteen years of going through that and that was breaking point? But it was,” she continued. “I was so done and over with her at that point. I was fed up.”

The former child beauty queen said that over the years, her mother had “done a lot of sh*t.” But she never believed June would squander her TV earnings. 

“For her to take it that far? Ooh, that just raised my bar,” Alana said.

Alana says she received no money for ‘Here Comes Honey Boo Boo’

Here Comes Honey Boo Boo aired for four seasons before it was canceled. But Alana says she was never paid for her time on that show. 

“I have never received the Here Comes Honey Boo Boo money,” she said. “Never seen it. Never ever even heard of it, if I’m being completely honest.”

Alana also appeared on Dancing With the Stars in 2019. She later accused her mother of taking $35,000 she earned from the competition series. Eventually, Mama June paid her back, but she never apologized for misappropriating the funds in the first place. 

“No, I don’t think she was ever like, ‘I’m sorry,’” said Alana, who is now studying nursing at Regis University in Colorado.

Now, Alana’s finances are in better shape. In 2021, she was a contestant on The Masked Singer. By that time, she was in the custody of her sister Lauryn “Pumpkin” Efird, so she was paid. And thanks to her sister, some money she earned from Mama June was placed in a Coogan Account, a type of trust for child performers designed to protect them from financial abuse. But so far, she hasn’t touched those funds. 

“I’m in the mindset of, if I don’t actually need it, I might as well just let it save up,” Alana said. “And when I do actually need it, it’ll be there for me.” 

Mama June: Family Crisis Season 7 premieres Friday, May 30 at 8 p.m. ET on WE tv. Episodes also stream on ALLBLK and AMC+.  

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