Mama June Shannon Defends Alana 'Honey Boo Boo' Thompson, 16, for Dating 20-Year-Old Boyfriend
"Mama June" Shannon is defending her 16-year-old daughter's relationship with a 20-year-old man. Fans recently found out that Alana "Honey Boo Boo" Thompson is dating 20-year-old Dralin Carswell, and some were concerned. Shannon addressed this controversy in a new interview with Too Fab, saying that she believes these critics are being close-minded.
"Yes, I've met Dralin, they've been together for over a year," Shannon began. "People need to realize that she's going to be 17 in August and that [Alana's older sister] Pumpkin and Josh were the same age as they were." Shannon also believed that a lot of critics calling out the age difference were more concerned about Carswell being Black. She urged these viewers to stop thinking of Alana as the child she was when she first became a reality TV star.
"She is getting a lot of hate because she's in an interracial relationship, he is older, but at the end of the day, Alana's not that 6, 7-year-old child y'all fell in love with 11 years ago," Shannon said. "Alana has grown up, she's graduating high school next year, guys!"
Alana and Carswell have reportedly been dating since early 2021, but have just recently gone Instagram official. Naturally, many commenters dismissed Shannon's input due to her spotty record as a parent over the last few years. Some do not think she should be the one to approve or disapprove of Alana's life choices – including her romantic partnerships.
As for Alana, she made a similar statement about her maturity in an interview with PEOPLE earlier this year. Shortly after she and Shannon were eliminated from The Masked Singer, Alana said: "I feel like so many people still look at me as that little girl that very first came on TV. Even when the posts about me and my boyfriend coming out, I feel like there was so many people that were still treating me like I was 6 years old."
As far as we know, Shannon does not currently have legal custody of Alana due to her issues over the last few years, including her arrest for domestic violence and possession of crack cocaine. However, she is still charging ahead on her show Mama June: Road to Redemption, which has had no shortage of family drama even as Shannon and her daughters inch towards making up.
Shannon told Too Fab that upcoming episodes of the show will detail her decision about whether or not to seek custody of Alana and what her older daughters have to say about it, as well as Alana's burgeoning adulthood. The new season of Mama June: Road to Redemption premieres on Friday, May 13 on WeTV.