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Mama June Reacts to Daughter Alana Thompson’s Weight Loss Surgery Plans: ‘I’m Supportive’
Reluctantly supportive. Mama June Shannon has some hesitations about her youngest daughter, Alana “Honey Boo Boo” Thompson, undergoing weight loss surgery.
“I’m supportive if this is something Alana wants to get,” June, 42, told TMZ on Wednesday, June 27. “But I would say she needs to wait until she’s 18 years old.”
June added that she plans to talk to Alana’s sister and guardian, Lauryn “Pumpkin” Efird, about postponing the procedure.
“It kind of bothers me that Pumpkin didn’t tell me,” The Mama June: From Hot to Not star said. “If Alana wants to do it, she should wait to sign her own paperwork at 18.”
June may have not been able to discuss the surgery with Alana yet due to their strained relationship. In March 2019, the mother of four was arrested on charges of possession of a controlled substance and drug paraphernalia. Following the arrest, Alana, 16, moved in with Lauryn, 22, and her husband, Josh Efird.
June was sentenced in August 2021. As part of a plea agreement, she was sentenced to 100 hours of community service, court supervision and other conditions that included random drug screenings, according to E! News.
After caring for Alana as a guardian for nearly two years, Lauryn filed for custody in December 2021, according to court documents obtained by In Touch. On April 11, a judge awarded sole custody of Alana to Lauryn. In addition to the new custody arrangement, June was ordered to pay Lauryn $800 in child support per month.
Alana then addressed reports about the surgery during an interview with Entertainment Tonight on July 20. The former pageant contestant said the surgery is “still in the works,” adding it’s not something she’s positive she’s ready to do yet.
“I just wanna make sure that this is actually something I wanna do before I just go and do it,” she said at the time. “I wanna make sure that it’s, like, not something that’s, like, gonna kill me. And I just wanna make sure it’s something I actually wanna do before I go and do it.”
Alana noted that dieting and exercising could lead to her weight loss goal, though admitted she wants the process to be faster and easier.
“I know for a fact I could get in the gym and I know for a fact I could diet, and I know for a fact I can do this to lose my weight,” the Toddlers & Tiaras alum explained. “I will say I’ve tried, but the one thing with me is I have no motivation. I have no motivation to just keep going to the gym every day. I have no motivation to keep eating healthy because, like, I’m gonna eat what I think is good. I’m not [gonna] sit there and force myself to eat no Caesar salad because I think it’s healthy. No. I’m gonna eat what I think’s good.”
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