Honey Boo Boo’s Sister Pumpkin Defends Her After Online ‘Name-Calling’

Since their mother Mama June Shannon‘s drug addiction became unmanageable and subsequent time in rehab, Alana “Honey Boo Boo” Shannon, 15, has been in the care of her older sister, Lauryn “Pumpkin” Shannon, 21. Alana has grown up in the public eye on the family’s steady stream of TLC reality shows, and that has often made transitioning from a cute child star into a teenager difficult.

Alana has dealt with a number of trolls on social media, and she shared a selfie on Instagram on March 9 alongside the caption “can’t stand me? take a seat.” She continued to defend herself and her family in the comments. Ultimately, she cared most about what was said about her mother and sister. “[I don’t care too much] what y’all gotta say about me, but, one thing y’all ain’t finna do, [is] talk about my mama [and] my sister. My mom is now sober almost a year and I couldn’t be prouder of her and yes, I’m raised by my sister, but hey, I think she [is] doing a damn good job at it!”

Lauryn posted a defense of her little sister on Instagram on Wednesday, explaining that now that Alana was a teenager, people needed to adjust to her new outlook on life. “Let’s start with a few things,” she began. “Alana is 15 now she likes the long lashes & long nails but that doesn’t make her ‘ghetto, ratchet, poor, or grown.’ At 15 I’m glad the only things she worries about is her nails and lashes because as people most of her age she could definitely be involved in much worse.”

“But as Alana Thompson legal guardian of almost 3 years now, she’s a beautiful soul who’s been through entirely too much for her age but still manages to give a person the shirt off her back when she may not have it to give,” she continued. “She busts [sic] her a— in school and keeps her grades up so who gives a damn If she wants to throw on lashes or long nails for the week. So next time before y’all go judging or name-calling understand truly who Alana is and all the mean things you call her or the mean things you might say she’s still a child who has feelings.” The Shannon family will next be seen in Mama June: Road To Redemption, which chronicles June’s new journey of sobriety and mending fences with her family.