Alana Thompson, also known as Honey Boo Boo, is speaking out ahead of her 16th birthday this weekend.
The “Here Comes Honey Boo Boo” star discusses getting older, her mother Mama June’s history of substance abuse, and more in a candid new interview with Teen Vogue.
The teen’s mom has been open about her battle with cocaine addiction, admitting earlier this year that she spent $600,000 in six months to feed her and her boyfriend Geno Doak’s dependency.
Thompson shares, “A lot of folks in this world do not realize how many people are actually really affected by drug and alcohol [use]… It’s very, very hard. It’s something I’d wish on nobody, for real.
“When my mama got real bad with her [drug use], I didn’t know where I was going to end up. I’m proud of myself for how far I’ve come.”
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Thompson says she and her mom are working on getting their relationship “back on track” and insists she’s proud of her mom for working on herself.
The child reality-TV star says of getting older: “I guess people still expect me to be little Honey Boo Boo and I’m not anymore. Just because I’m from the South, people expect me to be all ‘country bumpkin’, out riding four-wheelers all the time, but that’s not really how it is… But I do not care. As long as I like myself, I’m good.”
She says of Gen Z and the body positivity movement: “I feel like my generation is probably making it worse. Everybody’s all about body positivity, body positivity, until they see a body they don’t like… I don’t understand why people think this way. Just because I got a little bit of extra meat on my bones, you want to hate me? I’ll never get body shaming.”
Thompson adds, “Like, I know I’m beautiful, and I know I got a banging body, so… I don’t care.”
She says of attending public school: “To be honest, I do not have many friends. At all,” admitting her only friend is probably her boyfriend. “Because I feel like folks are so much like, ‘Oh my God, I’m friends with Honey Boo Boo.’ I don’t trust nobody really, so I don’t have friends.”
