It’s often said that artists suffer for their art, and that certainly seems to be the case for Honey Boo Boo mom “Mama June” Shannon. Reality TV star Mama June has certainly set tongues wagging since appearing on the TLC reality show Here Comes Honey Boo Boo. The subject matter for that show, child beauty pageants, is controversial in itself, but Mama June took matters to a whole new level. TLC canceled Here Comes Honey Boo Boo when it was revealed that Mama June was in a relationship with a registered sex offender. A whole season of the controversial show was in the can, but it was never aired.
For those not familiar with Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, the show began as a spinoff from another TLC reality show. Toddlers and Tiaras also focused on child beauty pageants, it faced huge criticism and was taken off-air after claims that children were being exploited and sexualized. Children like Alana “Honey Boo Boo” Thompson, some just 3-years-old, were shown smoking fake cigarettes and padding the chest area to look like Dolly Parton.
Despite criticism, from a range of experts, over the harm that shows like Toddlers and Tiaras were doing to the children involved, TLC launched Here Comes Honey Boo Boo in 2012. The central theme of the show was still on child beauty pageants, but the main focus was on “Honey Boo Boo” Thompson and “Mama June” Shannon.
When Here Comes Honey Boo Boo launched, Alana Thompson was just 6-years-old. The show faced a storm of criticism. The Guardian slammed TLC for portraying Honey Boo Boo and her family as “ people to point and snicker at .” Mama June was slaughtered in the media for raising Honey Boo Boo on a diet of “fat cakes” and energy drinks mixed with Mountain Dew.
Here Comes Honey Boo Boo was described as “a car crash,” and it was claimed that Honey Boo Boo and her family took reality TV to new depths. Here Comes Honey Boo Boo was eventually canceled when it became clear that Mama June was involved with a pedophile. Shockingly, Mama June’s oldest daughter, Anna Shannon, later told Radar that her mother’s boyfriend had been sexually abusing her a decade earlier when she was just 8-years-old. Yes, you read that correctly, Mama June Shannon was dating a man who had been convicted of sexually abusing her daughter.
Mama June Now: Weight Loss Transformation Means A New Look And A New Show
As we enter 2017, Mama June now looks very different. The Here Comes Honey Boo Boo star has reportedly slimmed down from over 300 lbs to a trim size four. As a result of Mama June’s transformation, she has been awarded a new TV show, which comes to air on February 24. The WE tv show is titled Mama June: From Not To Hot and tracks Mama June’s weight loss journey. It seems that Honey Boo Boo and her sisters have lost a little weight, too.
Of course, this is reality TV, so don’t expect to see Mama June eating a healthy diet, exercising and showing a will of steel to shed over half of her body weight. Instead, Radar reports that Mama June “took it to extremes” by having gastric bypass surgery . After shedding half her body weight, Mama June was left with pounds of sagging skin and has now undergone further surgery to have that removed.
“Mama June says, ‘I’ve lost at least half of my body. People said yeah that I look good, so I took it to the extreme like everything else.’
“‘It hasn’t changed my life dramatically. The only difference is that people are able to see the way I look now. Before, I used to be told you couldn’t tell when I lost weight. But now I know I’m the s**t and you cant tell me nothing!’”
Mama June is clearly pleased with the results, though she is keeping her new body under wraps until her new show airs next week.
[Featured Image by Dan Hallman/Invision/AP]