If you thought that 6-year-old Toddlers & Tiaras star Alana, a.k.a. Honey Boo Boo, was outrageous, just wait until you meet her family. The sassy little pageant queen struts her stuff in the new TLC spin-off, Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, which premiered Wednesday night. The show also introduces us to her wacky Georgia family: mom June, dad Sugar Bear, and sisters Pumpkin, Chubbs and Chickadee.
Though the family can't agree on whether to call themselves "rednecks," Here Comes Honey Boo Boo has already come under fire for enforcing Southern stereotypes. Alana's family eats cheese balls for breakfast, goes "mud bogging" for fun and can't get enough fart jokes. But 300-lb. matriarch June (she weighs herself on camera in the first episode) says she doesn't feel exploited.
"People are going to talk, good and bad, and it is what it is," the proud mama told CNN. "My family, we enjoy what we've done and I would do it again."
Though Alana (who's in the running for iVillage's special Cutest Reality Kid category in Television Without Pity's Tubey Awards) is still the star (along with her talking tummy), Here Comes Honey Boo Boo is focused less on the pageant circuit than it is on the Thompson family. And what's clear about the Thompson family -- beyond their love of questionable nicknames -- is that they really love each other, and don't give a hoot what anyone else thinks about their lives. In a reality TV world filled with hyper-competitive Housewives and preening wannabe models, it's a refreshing thing to see.
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