Alana “Honey Boo Boo” Thompson is ready to ditch the “country bumpkin” persona and reintroduce herself to the world.
Ahead of her 16th birthday this weekend, the Here Comes Honey Boo Boo star took part in a full profile for Teen Vogue. In the ultra-glamorous photo shoot, published on Wednesday, she looked totally unrecognizable while wearing makeup and several high fashion pieces. Ch-ch-check out the stunning images (below):
In the accompanying interview, the 15-year-old television personality, who rose to fame at 6-years-old on the TLC series Toddlers and Tiaras, made it clear that she is no longer the same child everyone remembers.
Related: Mama June Splits From Controversial Boyfriend Geno Doak
More importantly, Alana wants the world to get to know the real her now — the one who goes to public school, has a boyfriend, works on the weekends and after school, and aspires to be a neonatal nurse. She said of her past and present self:
“My mama did not name me Honey Boo Boo. My name is Alana. They are completely two different people. I would say that I do like this Alana now, rather than the younger Alana.”
Wow! No more Honey Boo Boo! Got it!
The teenager continued, explaining how she has grown not to let social media users hate and preconceived notions of her get her down:
“I guess people still expect me to be little Honey Boo Boo, and I’m not 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. 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.”
Sounds healthy! And she’s right, folks shouldn’t be pigeonholed just because of where they grew up!
Thompson has also been on the receiving end of a lot of body shaming over the years — some of it arguably invited by the way TLC‘s hit reality show presented her. But again, she doesn’t let it bother her, saying:
“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. 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.”
Neither will we. Regardless of the criticism, the reality star said she tries to remain positive:
“Like, I know I’m beautiful, and I know I got a banging body, so… I don’t care.”
Elsewhere in the conversation, Alana touched on Mama June Shannon’s public struggles with drug addiction. As you may know, Alana has lived with her sister Lauryn “Pumpkin” Shannon since their mother was arrested in March 2019 with ex-boyfriend Geno Doak for possession of cocaine and drug paraphernalia. June has since become sober, but the journey getting there was especially hard on Alana:
“A lot of folks in this world do not realize how many people are actually really affected by drug and alcohol [use]. It’s very, very hard. It’s something I’d wish on nobody, for real… When my mama got real bad with her [drug use], I didn’t know where I was going to end up.”
With the past behind them, the teen revealed she and June have worked hard to get “back on track” and rebuild the mother-daughter relationship they used to share. So glad to hear!
In the end, Thompson says she’s just “proud of myself for how far I’ve come.”
Wow! Reactions, Perezcious readers? Let us know in the comments (below). Also, you can ch-ch-check out the entire profile from Teen Vogue HERE.
[Image via WE TV/YouTube]
The post ‘Honey Boo Boo’ No More! Alana Thompson Spills On Her New Life & Goes Glam For <i>Teen Vogue</i>! appeared first on Perez Hilton.
