Honey Boo Boo is having a hard time on Dancing With the Stars: Juniors —and she hasn’t even faced the judges yet.
The 12-year-old Here Comes Honey Boo Boo star, whose real name is Alana Thompson, was spotted by paparazzi as she exited a DWTS rehearsal session at CBS Studios in Los Angeles over the weekend. The young reality star’s breakdown shows how stressful the ABC celebrity ballroom competition may be for children, something that critics of the spinoff series have been saying ever since the show was announced.
TMZ posted photos of the former TLC star and beauty pageant kid wearing a red tee and looking down at her phone as she broke down in tears after the rehearsal. While her struggle is real, the celebrity gossip site reports that Thompson will receive a whopping $50,000 just for signing on to the show, then additional cash for each week she makes it without getting eliminated from the competition. If she makes it to episode 3, Honey Boo Boo will reportedly receive an extra $10K, and if she lasts until episode 5 she’ll get another $15K. The reality star is in line to earn as much as $130,000 if she makes it to the Dancing With the Stars: Juniors finale.
Last month, a source told The Blast that Thompson reported for training for the competition in Los Angeles and was said to be “taking it very seriously.”
Honey Boo Boo Cries After Rehearsal for ‘Dancing with the Stars Jr.’ https://t.co/vTGX9ktRpn
— TMZ (@TMZ) August 13, 2018
The Dancing With the Stars : Juniors spinoff will feature 12 celebrity kids paired with junior dancers who will work with adult mentors as they compete for the first-ever kids-sized mirrorball trophy. Thompson, who started off on Toddlers and Tiaras before landing the TLC spinoff, Here Comes Honey Boo Boo , will reportedly compete against a cast that includes Sophia Pippen, the 9-year-old daughter of NBA player Scottie Pippen and Real Housewives of Atlanta star Larsa Pippen, and 13-year-old actor Miles Brown ( Black-ish).
While it has not yet been announced who Alana Thompson is partnered with for the celebrity dance-off, Entertainment Tonight previously posted the list of the junior pro dancers and their veteran mentors.
The Dancing With the Stars : Juniors junior pro dancers are Rylee Arnold (mentor: Lindsay Arnold); Hailey Bills (mentor Jenna Johnson); Sage Rosen (mentor: Gleb Savchenko; Lev Khmelev (mentor: Keo Motsepe); Brightyn Brems (mentor: Cheryl Burke); Elliana Walmsley (mentor: Emma Slater); Tristan Ianiero (mentor: Artem Chigvintsev); JT Church (mentor: Alan Bersten); Kamri Peterson (mentor: Witney Carson); Jake Monreal (mentor: Sasha Farber); Artyon Celestine (mentor: Brandon Armstrong); and Kameron Couch (mentor: Hayley Erbert).
Dancing With the Stars Season 25 champion Jordan Fisher and third-place finalist Frankie Muniz will host the 10-episode competition, while two-time DWTS mirrorball champion Val Chmerkovskiy, Emmy-nominated choreographer Mandy Moore and reigning DWTS champ, Olympic figure skater Adam Rippon, will serve as judges for the Juniors season.
Dancing With the Stars: Juniors premieres this fall on ABC.