Alana “Honey Boo Boo” Thompson is looking nothing short of fabulous for Teen Vogue‘s latest feature. The 15-year-old reality star took part in a glamorous photo shoot for the magazine that was published on Wednesday (Aug. 25), and she looked totally unrecognizable while wearing makeup and several fashionable ensembles. Honey Boo Boo wore a purple Azeeza dress and blue jeans for one stunning look, as well as a NorBlack NorWhite dress that she styled with a red Bailey Western hat and green LaBucq shoes.
Honey Boo Boo was very open in the candid interview, and spoke specifically about being on the receiving end of body-shaming over the years. “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,” she told the publication. ”I don’t understand why people think this way. Just because I got a little bit of extra meat on my bones, you want to hate me? I’ll never get body shaming,” she added.
The daughter of “Mama” June Shannon said that regardless of the criticism she gets, she remains positive through it all. “Like, I know I’m beautiful, and I know I got a banging body, so…I don’t care,” Honey Boo Boo said. The teenage star also shared that she does “not have many friends at all” due to having trust issues from being in the spotlight, and considers her boyfriend to be her closest friend. “I feel like folks are so much like, ‘Oh, my God, I’m friends with Honey Boo Boo,’ ” she said. “I don’t trust nobody really, so I don’t have friends.”
Honey Boo Boo has been living with her big sister, Lauryn “Pumpkin” Shannon, 21, after their mom was arrested in March 2019 with then-boyfriend Geno Doak for possession of a controlled substance and drug paraphernalia. June has since cleaned up her act and gotten sober, but the journey getting there was particularly hard on Honey Boo Boo. “A lot of folks in this world do not realize how many people are actually really affected by drug and alcohol [use],” she told Teen Vogue. “It’s very, very hard. It’s something I’d wish on nobody, for real.”
With the dark days for the Shannon family behind them, the teenager said that she and her mom have worked hard to getting “back on track” to the beautiful and healthy relationship that the mother-daughter duo used to share. “When my mama got real bad with her [drug use], I didn’t know where I was going to end up,” Honey Boo Boo said. “I’m proud of myself for how far I’ve come.”
