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Mama June Explains Where Honey Boo Boo’s Missing Money Is: ‘I Didn’t Really Steal’
“Mama June” Shannon is responding to allegations she stole thousands of dollars from daughter Alana ‘Honey Boo Boo” Thompson, saying answers will come in the Mama June: Family Crisis episode airing on Friday, April 12.
“I didn’t really steal any money,” June, 44, told Entertainment Tonight on Wednesday, April 10.
“You will see on Friday, you know, like it’s not hundreds of thousands of dollars that is in question, it’s only one show and that’s Dancing With the Stars,” she continued, referring to when Alana, 18, appeared on DWTS Juniors in 2018.
In the March 22 episode of Mama June: Family Crisis, Alana and sister Lauryn “Pumpkin” Efird discovered the Toddlers and Tiaras alum only had $33,000 in her Coogan account, a bank account set up for child actors to access when they turn 18.
“There should at least be six figures in that account!” Alana said in a confessional. “Something’s not adding up. My money is somewhere. It needs to be found right now, ASAP. Because this is not gonna work.” The former child beauty pageant star believed she had at least “six figures,” as she’s appeared on reality TV since the age of 6.
June told ET that her daughter earned $60,000 for appearing on DWTS Juniors, although she only ended up with roughly $35,000 after California state taxes and Georgia state taxes were taken out. The family matriarch said she put 20 percent into Alana’s Coogan account, along with other money from their joint appearance on The Masked Singer season 6.
The Mama June: From Not to Hot star told the outlet her daughter does have a fortune, but it was her choice not to access the funds.
“Alana has around over $200,000 that she has access to but she is choosing not to have access to,” she shared. “She is making those decisions because she’s 18. So there’s more, there’s definitely more money out there.”
Lauryn, 24, and Alana eventually confronted their mother about the missing money. However, June claimed she didn’t take it. “I can’t help that there’s not more money,” she responded. “Taxes were took out automatically – 50 percent,” although Lauryn called her out that the taxes were nowhere near that high.
June then claimed she used some of the money to pay for Alana’s things when she was younger. “You have been taking care of your own self, paying your own bills since you were the age of 12,” June said. “And you’ve been doing a good job of it.”
She also said Alana should be “grateful” as $33,000 is “more than most 18 year olds start off their life with.” June said the amount in the account came from the DWTS Juniors appearance.
During the March 29 episode of Mama June: Family Crisis, June’s husband, Justin Stroud, sided with his stepdaughters.
“Before it’s all said and done, she’s going to ruin this marriage and her relationship with the kids if things don’t change,” Justin, 36, said in a confessional. “It really threatens my relationship with the girls because I look like a villain when there’s money missing.”
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