Former reality show child star, Honey Boo Boo is now 16 years old and she would like to be called by her real name, Alana Thompson.
The television child star won everyone’s hearts during her pageant days in the reality show, Toddlers & Tiaras in 2012 and with her own reality show, Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, also in 2012 until it was cancelled two years later.
Now, Alana is playing herself as a public high schooler, who is saving to buy her first car, and dreams of being a neonatal nurse.
During her photo shoot and interview with Teen Vogue, Alana opened about being a child star on TV, her relationship with her “redneck/hillbilly/white trash family” and what is waiting for her now that she is entering the adult world.
“I want to be the best I can be, and I want to make my money, and I also want to make straight A’s, so I just try my hardest.” says Alana, who recalled the days when she would just sit on her bed and say to herself that she couldn’t do another episode of her show as Honey Boo Boo.
She adds: “They are completely two different people. I would say that I do like this Alana now, rather than the younger Alana.”
The cancellation of her show in 2014 was caused by her mother, June Shannon, who dated a convicted child molester, whose victims allegedly included one of Alana’s sisters.
Alana went to appear in her mom’s own reality show in 2017 titled Mama June: From Not To Hot and rebranded as Mama June: Road To Redemption. Yet in 2019, Mama June was arrested on possession of a controlled substance and drug paraphernalia charges. This eventually made her sister, Lauryn “Pumpkin” Shannon, her legal guardian.
Alana admits that she misses her family, especially when it comes to having family dinners. Their home broke when Mama June’s drug use worsened.
“A lot of folks in this world do not realize how many people are actually really affected by drug and alcohol use. It’s very, very hard. It’s something I’d wish on nobody, for real. When my mama got real bad with her drug use, I didn’t know where I was going to end up. I’m proud of myself for how far I’ve come. I’m somebody that speaks my mind whether you like it or not. If I don’t feel comfortable doing something, I’m going to tell you.”
Social media has been kind and sometimes critical of Alana, She expresses herself by dressing up, wearing long lashes and long nails. Her Instagram with 986,000 followers, are quick to tell her it’s too much.
“I guess people still expect me to be little Honey Boo Boo, and I’m not anymore. Just because I’m from the South, people expect me to be all country bumpkin, out riding four wheelers all the time, but that’s not really how it is. There are so many folks on my Instagram that do not like my nails or my eyelashes. But I do not care. As long as I like myself, I’m good. I don’t ever look at people and I’m like, ‘Oh, I wish I was like her. Because I don’t ever wish to be like nobody. I am my own person.”
Body shaming is something directed at her every single day on social media. She is disappointed on how the Gen Z are so fatphobia and oppressive on body image standards.
“I feel like my generation is probably making it worse. Everybody’s all about body positivity, body positivity, until they see a body they don’t like. I don’t understand why people think this way. Just because I got a little bit of extra meat on my bones, you want to hate me? I’ll never get body shaming.
“Like, I know I’m beautiful, and I know I got a banging body, so…I don’t care. I mean, to myself I was a pageant queen.”
Being away from the spotlight has made Alana realize who are the people who really cared for her. She admits having trust issues.
“To be honest, I do not have many friends. At all. Because I feel like folks are so much like, ‘Oh, my God, I’m friends with Honey Boo Boo,’ I don’t trust nobody really, so I don’t have friends. You have to really test folks over three or four months.”
Part of her friendship tests are: If they still call her “Honey Boo Boo”; whether they offer to pay for anything or assume she will, since they also assume she is rich, which she clarifies isn’t exactly true.
Alana wants to live a normal life with a normal job. But it is a fact that being on TV was good for her at a time.
“Being on TV isn’t just a personal choice, it also feels like a smart financial decision. I will never make as much at a normal job and being on TV is much easier than a regular job.
“I want to have a life, you know? I want to be able to support my kids when I do have kids and stuff like that. It’s definitely something that is good for the time being, and good for later on in life.”
Alana clearly saw the day she won’t be filming anymore. At some point, she thinks there just won’t be anything left to film, and she’ll just be working her nursing job.
Before becoming a nurse, she wants to graduate high school and college. She wants to move out when she turns 18 and purchase a house, and before that, a car. She thinks she’ll keep working while in college, because she’s already thinking about student debt.
“It’s not just relying on dreams or five-year-plans or reinvented selves, but carving out the styles, relationships, and moments that feel most like you at any given time that bring you a little closer to the version of yourself you’re always growing into.
“So what does the future for Alana look like? I don’t know what future Alana’s like. I haven’t met her yet.”
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