Mama June Shannon found herself in a difficult position during the latest episode of “Mama June: Family Crisis.” As the family tried to regain a sense of normalcy following the death of Anna “Chickadee” Cardwell, Alana “Honey Boo Boo” Thompson was eager to address the $35,000 that June still owed her.
While preparing for the upcoming school year, Alana reached out to her sister Lauryn “Pumpkin” Efird to discuss how she would manage her expenses. “I don’t really have the money for the rent and school in the fall,” Alana confided. “Is it too soon to bring it up to Mama?”
Pumpkin quickly supported Alana, asserting that it was more than appropriate to ask for the money back, especially given its importance. “When Anna was sick, we all agreed as a family that all the drama that we had going on, that we were gonna push all of that to the side,” Pumpkin explained in a confessional. “But now that Anna has passed, it’s time for Alana to ask for the money back.”
June, who had custody of Anna’s daughter Kaitlyn after her death, was served with custody papers from the child’s father, Michael, earlier in the episode. Pumpkin noted that June withholding the money from Alana would not help her case in court. “Honestly, if Mama doesn’t give her the money back, it’s gonna be stupid, because you’ve already lost one kid, why lose another?” Pumpkin questioned.
The sisters agreed that June needed to face reality and reopen the discussion about the funds, but they were unsure when to bring it up since Alana was in Colorado finishing the year in college. “You know she’s got the money, be for real,” Alana said. “Well that’s where she’s still a piece of s—, so we’ll see,” Pumpkin responded.
Meanwhile, at June’s house, she was dealing with issues in her marriage. Her husband Justin Stroud had been encouraging her to return the money to Alana, but instead, June bought a new dishwasher and was planning a girls’ trip to Panama City. “I know my wife is blind, but does she really think that I’m blind too and don’t see what’s going on?” Justin told the cameras after catching June hiding her phone while paying for an expensive Airbnb. “I don’t wanna think that she’s being shady, but who the hell knows anymore.”
When June called Pumpkin and sister Jessica Shannon to inform them about the vacation, which Pumpkin initially suggested they use to spread Anna’s ashes, her daughters were shocked that she would continue spending money without resolving the financial issues first. “Mama these days is just so out of touch with reality, it’s insane,” Pumpkin said. “She wants to fund this entire Florida trip to go down and spread Anna’s ashes, which I’m okay with, but it’s like, you must think that we forgot that you still owe Alana money.”
Pumpkin hoped the trip would give Alana the opportunity to confront June about the money. “Mama needs to get her head out of her ass and give her her money,” Jessica added.
In another segment, Mama June revealed that she had taken money from Alana’s Coogan account—a trust where parents of child stars are legally required to deposit a percentage of their earnings—while discussing her plans for college in Colorado. Alana expressed her frustration in a confessional, “Mama’s really pissing me off because she’s trying to make everything about her damn self and it’s like where’s my money?… I’m gonna get the truth out of Mama and I will find out where my money is. Mama is not getting a slap on the wrist for this one.”
June’s actions also surprised her husband Justin, who felt betrayed. “Honestly, I was really hurt because I thought me and June was supposed to be able to tell each other everything and if she knew that it was gonna blow up like this, she should have told me about it,” he explained.
Lauryn “Pumpkin” Efird claimed that Mama June was “smart” because she knew to put “the bare minimum” into Alana’s account that was “legally right and then pocketed the rest, Lord knows what she did or where it went.” She added, “I honestly did not think she could stoop that low.”
Alana broke down in tears after realizing she didn’t know how she was going to pay for her college education. She emotionally told Mama June, “You don’t really give a f— that you took our money, that’s the real problem here. That’s the problem.” When Lauryn accused her mother of being unable to “be honest” about how she spent the earnings, June responded, “I’ve been honest, dumbass.”
A tearful Alana confronted Justin about his knowledge of the situation, and he claimed he didn’t know and began to cry. When the girls challenged their mother about what happened to the money, she admitted she took 80 percent and left 20 percent for Alana. Lauryn said, “I don’t get what you were even paying for, other than drugs.”
In a confessional, Alana threatened to take Mama June to “court” because “something’s gonna happen because you ain’t fitting to just get away with stealing my money, baby.”
Justin was also not over Mama June’s lies. On the car ride back with his wife, he accused her of “still lying” and asked in a confessional for her to “stop lying.” He then said the “bulls— has to stop. … you’re a f—ing liar” and she said nothing in response.
In another preview, Lauryn expressed her frustration to her aunt, Jo “Doe Doe” Shannon, about June’s refusal to pay for Alana’s college. “We had a dinner with Mama,” Pumpkin told Doe Doe. “Alana asks like, ‘Hey. Are you gonna, can you help me out with college? Or like the first payment?’ Mama straight up told her like, ‘No, I’m not helping you. I’m trying to rebuild my own life. I don’t want you to have to depend on me every month and know that I have to pay your college.'”
Doe Doe was shocked by her sister’s actions, telling her niece, “I can’t with her. Her job is school. June’s job is parent. And when your kids go off to school, that’s what you do.”
Lauryn then claimed that her mom asked her and her husband, Josh, to help Alana. “Mama doesn’t even wanna help out in general. She said, ‘What the f–k are you and Josh gonna do for her? She said, ‘You want to paint out to America that you’re her f–king mama. Why don’t you and Josh do something?'” she told her aunt, whose jaw dropped in disbelief.
Lauryn continued, “Then I asked her, ‘Hey, have you checked into the account, Alana’s Coogan account? She said, ‘The money’s gone. What the f–k do you want me to do?'” Lauryn added that she was going to look into the bank account. “Mama just thinks it’s gonna go away ’cause Alana’s moving to Colorado and that’s just not gonna be the case,” she said, before concluding, “I’m not gonna let Mama just get away with this s–t.”
According to WE tv, viewers will see Lauryn tell her mom that she’ll pay for “stealing” her daughter’s money in the upcoming episode. Meanwhile, Lauryn and Alana previously confronted June after discovering the latter’s Coogan account only contained $33,000—a sum far less than what they thought it would be. June responded by saying a good chunk of the money went to taxes, while also admitting it was used to buy a house.
During last week’s episode, June’s husband, Justin Stroud, also confronted her about spending Alana’s money, which she had earned from “Dancing with the Stars” and “The Masked Singer.” Justin said he didn’t think June truly understood the situation, before she attempted to explain herself again. “Yes, not 100% [of the money] went in [the Coogan account]. But you have to think about the taxes, it takes 50%, plus you have to pay the state you live in at the time, so you have to pay California tax and you have to pay that,” she said.
Justin, however, wasn’t buying that. “June must think I’m some kind of idiot, ‘Well, it’s 50% tax in Cali.’ Cali’s tax is high, but it ain’t that high,” he said in a confessional, before adding, “and honestly, I really think she’s trying to convince herself that she did the right thing.”
“Mama June: Family Crisis” airs Fridays on WE tv.
Source: PEOPLE, WE tv
