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Mama June Slammed for Not Paying Honey Boo Boo’s College Tuition: ‘Crazy as S–t’
Alana “Honey Boo Boo” Thompson and Lauryn “Pumpkin” Efird slammed their mother, June “Mama June” Shannon, after she refused to pay for her youngest daughter’s college tuition in a teaser clip for the Friday, March 15, episode of Mama June: Family Crisis shared exclusively with In Touch.
After Alana, 18, and Lauryn, 24, spoke to June, 44, about helping pay for her tuition, the sisters angrily vented their frustrations during the car ride home. “That’s just crazy as s–t to me,” Lauryn said. “The fact that she was like, ‘Oh, I’m not going to help you.’”
Alana then complained that June wouldn’t even contribute “a dollar” to her college fund and pointed out that she has no problem buying her husband, Justin Stroud, expensive chains. “She’s stingy when it comes to money,” the teen added.
“Mama said no and I was kind of expecting that, I’m not gonna lie, because just how negative she’s been about college the whole entire time,” Alana said in a confessional. “She’s had nothing really positive to say about it and it kinda just pisses me off people she can help everyone around her. She can help Justin. She can help this man and that man and she can help Jesse get into college and everything else.”
She then said that June claims she doesn’t “have the money” to help only when it comes to her. “And she knows she’s got the money,” Alana added. “Be for real.”
Back in the car, Alana said “it would’ve been nice” for June to help out financially and said it felt like her mother didn’t “believe in” her.
Lauryn pointed out that Alana has a Coogran account, which is a California Child Actor’s Bill that safeguards a portion of child actor’s earnings for when they reach a certain age. However, she said she didn’t know any details about the account or when Alana can access the money.
“I feel bad for Alana because Mama doesn’t want to help her with college, but if Alana can’t touch her Coogan money until she’s 21, we’ll just figure it out,” Lauryn said in a confessional, noting that she and her husband, Josh Efird, might have to help her out.
Lauryn added that “Alana does have a little bit of savings” because she put money aside for her future when she gained custody of her younger sister in 2022.
After Lauryn admitted she “didn’t get why” June wouldn’t help Alana, the former beauty pageant contestant agreed that the situation was unfair.
Fans have watched Alana struggle to decide if she wanted to go to college in Colorado throughout season 7. However, she confirmed she was attending Regis University in Denver in July 2023. Alana told Entertainment Tonight that she earned a $21,000 scholarship, though still had to pay for some of her education.
Mama June: Family Crisis airs on WEtv Fridays at 9 p.m. ET.
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