Mama June Shannon is speaking in defense of her daughter Alana Thompson, also known as “Honey Boo Boo,” after the 16-year-old girl faced criticisms over her interracial relationship with 20-year-old boyfriend Dralin Carswell. The couple lives in the state of Georgia, where the age of consent is 16.
“She is getting a lot of hate because she’s in an interracial relationship, he is older,” the “Mama June: Road to Redemption” star told TooFab on Tuesday of the 16-year-old’s relationship with Carswell. “At the end of the day, Alana’s not that 6-, 7-year-old child y’all fell in love with 11 years ago.”
“Alana has grown up, she’s graduating high school next year, guys!” the 42-year-old reality star added. “People need to realize that she’s going to be 17 in August.”
The “Mama June: From Hot to Not alum” also pointed out that the teenager’s older sister Lauryn “Pumpkin” Shannon and her husband, Joshua Efird, “were the same age” as Thompson and Carswell when they began dating.
Shannon, who said that she has met Carswell, recently expressed her approval of her daughter’s boyfriend — as well as one concern.
“He’s good. He needs to hold down a job a little bit more,” she told Entertainment Tonight in an interview published Monday. “I mean, he’s not bad. He doesn’t treat her bad or anything like that. … They’re [young] … So, if they last? Fine. If they don’t, it can be her first love.”
Thompson announced her relationship with Carswell via Instagram in September last year, one month after rumors circulated that the pair were secretly dating.
Honey Boo Boo and Carswell were spotted holding hands as they took an outdoor stroll near her McIntyre, Georgia home last month.
