Mama June Shannon is opening up about the decision to give up custody of her daughter Alana “Honey Boo Boo” Thompson. In a conversation with Entertainment Tonight ahead of Friday’s season premiere of Mama June: Family Crisis, Shannon insisted that it was a decision she, daughter Lauryn “Pumpkin” Efird, and her husband, Joshua, made together last year for Thompson’s future.ย
“We didn’t throw mud and sling mud. We actually sat down and we discussed it as a family and she already told the judge that’s [where] she wanted to stay,” Shannon said. “So, there was no mudslinging. She stayed with Pumpkin, but it’s not like we don’t see her all the time.” Asked if she was heartbroken that the 17-year-old ultimately decided to stay with her sister over her mother, Shannon had mixed feelings. “Yes and no because at the end of the day, we want to make sure that she is happy,” she responded. “I want to make sure she is happy and I don’t want to make her any more uncomfortable and have to go through any more than what she’s already had to go through.”
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It’s clear Shannon and her daughters have had their ups and downs as of late, with the trailer for the new season of Family Crisis showing Efird saying, “You can’t even show up for your own f-ing kids, and you’re worried about a wedding,” as her little sister declares she won’t be attending the wedding. “You want to fix it now because you’re getting married,” Efird continues. “Why should I forgive her if she’s not going to change her ways?”
Shannon also gave an update Thursday on the health of her oldest daughter, Anna “Chickadee” Cardwell, who is battling a “very rare and very aggressive” form of cancer called adrenal carcinoma. Shannon revealed that Cardwell had undergone a second round of chemotherapy to treat the cancer and is scheduled to undergo another round of chemotherapy next week, with a scan scheduled for this weekend. The family will get the results of her scans on May 9. Mama June: Family Crisis premieres Friday at 9 p.m. ET on WE tv.
