Alana Thompson Is No Longer 'Honey Boo Boo' — And She's Speaking Her Truth

Aug 26, 2021 by apost team

Alana Thompson, better known as Honey Boo Boo, became an overnight sensation when she appeared on the beauty pageant show “Toddlers & Tiaras” in 2012 at just 6 years old, skyrocketing to fame as one of the series' standout stars. In fact, Thompson and her mother were so popular that they landed a deal with TLC for their own reality TV spinoff, “Here Comes Honey Boo Boo.” The polarizing show, which followed the Shannon family in McIntyre, George, received mixed reviews, with some critics calling the show exploitative.

Despite the negative press, the show aired for four seasons, and viewers will never forget some of Thompson's lines during that period of her career, such as "You better redneckonize" and "A dollar makes me holla."

But in 2014, the network abruptly canceled the show due to reports that Thompson’s mother, June "Mama June" Shannon, was seen with a criminal and a revelation that Thompson’s father was also a known criminal.

Following the show’s surprise cancellation, Thomspon flew under the radar for a couple of years, only appearing on talk shows like “Live With Kelly and Ryan.” But 2017 saw Honey Boo Boo back on reality TV, as she starred in “Dancing With the Stars: Juniors” and “Mama June: From Not to Hot,”  which relaunched her television career as one of the Shannon family’s stars.

As one can imagine, Thompson, who turns 16 at the end of August 2021, has quite a reputation due to her controversial reality TV career. Most know her as “Honey Boo Boo,” the child of a highly dysfunctional family from the south.

But now, Thompson is speaking out, telling her fans (and haters) that she isn’t that little girl “Honey Boo Boo” anymore. She has a name, and it’s Alana Thompson.

“My mama did not name me Honey Boo Boo. My name is Alana,” Thompson says in an Aug. 25 Teen Vogue profile.

“They are completely two different people,” Thompson tells Teen Vogue. “I would say that I do like this Alana now, rather than the younger Alana.”

Part of Thompson’s transformation, or at least her unwillingness to be pigeonholed by her audience, is that she speaks her mind and is unafraid of setting the record straight. When she receives negative comments on Instagram, telling her that her nails or lashes are too much, she explains that she’s not the “little Honey Boo Boo” 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,” Thomson says in her interview with Teen Vogue. “There are so many folks on my Instagram that do not like my nails or my eyelashes. But I do not care. As long as I like myself, I'm good.”

“I don't ever look at people and I'm like, ‘Oh, I wish I was like her,’” Thompson adds. “Because I don't ever wish to be like nobody. I am my own person.”

Thompson also tells Teen Vogue that she often deals with fat shaming on social media, though she is skeptical of the body positivity movement that Gen Z has embraced.

“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,” Thompson says.

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“I don't understand why people think this way,” the reality TV star continues. “Just because I got a little bit of extra meat on my bones, you want to hate me? I'll never get body shaming.”

Beyond internet trolls and body shamers, Thompson also has to deal with the fame she’s acquired after years of being a television icon — and remember, she’s still a teenager.

“To be honest, I do not have many friends. At all,” Thompson tells the magazine, adding that her only friend is 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.”

Rather than treating her like a normal person, Thompson explains that some people she meets call her Honey Boo Boo to her face, while others assume that she’s rich and will pay for them.

While Thompson clarifies that she isn’t exactly wealthy, she does admit that being a reality TV star is certainly a smart business decision and one that she’s happy with.

“I want to have a life, you know? I want to be able to support my kids when I do have kids and stuff like that,” she says. “It’s definitely something that is good for the time being, (and) good for later on in life.”

With that said, Thompson also has other ambitions beyond television — she’d like to become a nurse.

“I want to be the best I can be, and I want to make my money, and I also want to make straight A's, so I just try my hardest.”

What do you think of Thompson’s interview with Teen Vogue? Did you know that she doesn’t like to be called Honey Boo Boo? Let us know — and pass this on to others.