'Didn't steal any money': Mama June reveals what happened to daughter Honey Boo Boo's missing funds
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Ahead of the upcoming 'Mama June: Family Crisis' episode, Mama June Shannon has addressed claims that she embezzled money from her daughter Alana "Honey Boo Boo" Thompson while she was underage.
In a recent interview with Entertainment Tonight ahead of the next episode, the mother-of-four addressed claims that she stole money from her 18-year-old daughter Alana's Coogan account—a bank account designated for child actors.
Mama June claims not to have stolen 'any money'
"I didn't really steal any money," Mama June claimed. "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."
In a March episode, Alana addressed June with the $33,000 balance in a Coogan account, noting that this was far lesser than the "six figures" she had anticipated for all of her efforts on screen.
Since Alana stated she was anticipating at least "six figures" for her work as a child star, she and her sister Lauryn "Pumpkin" Efird feared Mama June had spent a large portion of the money from the account herself.
June informed her daughters, "I can't help that there's not more money. Taxes were took out automatically -- 50 percent."
Mama June mentioned in the recent interview that the forthcoming episode, which airs on April 12, will reveal the truth, per OK! Magazine.
In 2018, Alana took part in 'Dancing With the Stars: Juniors'. According to June, her daughter earned roughly $60,000 for it, but after deducting taxes from both their home state and California, the total came to about $35,000.
June claimed to have followed financial advice and transferred 20% percent of the money to the Coogan account. The remaining funds in the account were derived from their appearance on season 6 of 'The Masked Singer' in 2019 as The Beach Ball.
Later, Mama June admitted that Alana's earnings from her time on television had been used to support her for an undisclosed period of time.
June informed her daughter Alana—who began her career on TLC's 'Toddlers & Tiaras'—that she had largely been on her own since she was 12 years old.
Ultimately, the financial issue caused an even greater rift between Alana and her mother, as the younger one subsequently stated that she didn't want her mother to attend her farewell party before she departed for college.
Alana further instructed June not to pay her a visit while she was attending school in Colorado.
Honey Boo Boo's money creates tension between Mama June and husband Justin Stroud
The financial difficulties have not only led to problems between the mother and daughter team, but they have also strained Mama June's relationship with her husband Justin Stroud.
The 'Here Comes Honey Boo Boo' star claimed to have "never seen Justin yell at her like that" following a heated argument between Alana, Mama June, and Lauryn over the family's finances.
Moreover, Justin had criticized Mama June for allegedly lying and misusing Alana's earnings, per OK! Magazine.
Justin declared in his confessional that his wife's falsehoods "threaten my relationship with the girls because I look like a villain when there's money missing."
Justin remarked, "Marriage, it has its ups and downs," in reference to the conflict. "At the end of the day, June is my wife, but this one right here stung because I feel like I actually have kids of my own."
"Before it's all said and done, she's going to ruin this marriage and the relationship with the kids if things don't change," Justin added.
