Friday night’s special episode of Mama June: From Not to Hot gave fans their first inside look at Mama June Shannon’s (alleged) struggle with drugs, but the reality TV star has allegedly been using— and trying to kick—drugs for a while, according to a new report by Hollywood Life.
According to the site’s sources, June attempted to get clean at a Georgia rehab earlier this year but was unsuccessful.
“June went to rehab at the end of February in Georgia after they wrapped filming Season 3 of her show,” the source said. “She was in there voluntarily, but she left and was on a drugs binge until she got arrested.”
(As The Ashley previously reported, June and her boyfriend Geno Doak were arrested in March on drug and drug paraphernalia possession charges.)
June attempted rehab at the urging of the producers behind her WEtv reality show who allegedly saw signs of drug use inside June’s home long before June and Geno got arrested, but it was kept under wraps.
“I’m so shocked this didn’t get out long before,” one insider told Hollywood Life. “When you’d go to her house, she would be out of it like you’re out [of it] before you get put under before surgery. She was wiped.
“There were needles everywhere in her home,” the source claimed, adding that this is when June’s teenage daughter Alana (aka “Honey Boo Boo”) was sent to live with her older sister Lauryn “Pumpkin” Shannon.
On Friday night’s episode, Alana, Lauryn and other members of June’s family urged her to get help, but June refused.
It appears not much has changed since that episode was filmed months ago. June is allegedly now holed up in an Alabama casino with Geno, despite the fact that a judge has ordered they have no contact, due to a pending domestic violence charge Geno has for what went down the day of the couple’s arrests.
Mama June is living in a casino pic.twitter.com/UCuj6mV0LV
— TMZ Live (@TMZLive) May 20, 2019
“I’m disgusted there has not been change in June in all these years,” a second source told Hollywood Life. “She is still blaming others and has a drug problem.”
Mama June has not spoken publicly about her alleged drug issues, nor has she confirmed Hollywood Life’s claim that she has had at least one failed rehab attempt.
Watch a clip from Friday’s dramatic “The Road to Intervention” episode of ‘Mama June’ below.
RELATED STORY: Mama June’s Family Confronts Her in Emotional Drug Intervention: Watch a Sneak Peek of Friday’s Dramatic Episode
(Photos: WEtv; Twitter)
26 Responses
Twittafame, I don’t know anything about Mama June’s childhood but, just from observing her for the past several years (I got hooked on following this family, as I really find myself caring about them all and rooting for them: despite all the pain, tragedy, bad choices and dysfunction, there is also so much warmth, love and humor in their family–I hope all that good stuff wins out in the end), what you are saying doesn’t surprise me at all, it just makes me even sadder. Despite all June’s bad choices, somehow I still care about her! The one I really am so concerned about is Alana (also Pumpkin and all Mama J.’s kids, but Alana just stole my heart a while back, as she is a really, really, REALLY bright, hilarious, special person, but even if she weren’t, the main fact is she’s a child and this situation is heartbreaking and awful). I pray that somehow June will get the help she really needs to get into recovery from her addictions and her own childhood, so that all the good qualities I see can finally come to the forefront, and so that she can be the kind of parent her kids need.
I just wonder how long drugs have been in the picture. Because if it is years and years, a lot of things make more sense now than they did before, as far as June’s bad choices (I am thinking of her oldest daughter and how June just made horrendous choices re not protecting her). Again, I pray for this whole family. I think Alana in particular is a really special little human and I am fervently rooting for her to have a good future.
why are they living in a casino??? did she get evicted?
What kind of screening is involved before people are chosen for reality tv shows to be given buckets of money that they could easily spend on drugs? And what kind of supports do the networks provide to their clients to ensure they stay on the right path? It seems all these network employees were witnesses to so many signs and it went unaddressed for far too long, especially with young children involved. In my opinion these networks should be held a bit more accountable. We all saw the teen mom clip of Ryan falling asleep at the wheel that could’ve resulted in multiple fatalities. I can’t believe that mtv saw nothing wrong going into that.
From obese to overdose.
From flab to drab..
So did her drug addiction start after she started getting all that TV money? I will never understand how a grown ass adult (especially with kids) who should know better picks up a drug habit. I hope for her kids sake she can get her shit together and stay clean.
So you literally do not know ANY of the MILLIONS of adults who are addicted to alcohol and/or drugs? Consider yourself lucky.
I didn’t say I don’t know any. I know several, in various stages of addiction and recovery. But the majority of the ones I personally know started when they were young. Like teenagers or young adults. And I made my fair share of mistakes at that age. But IF she started at an older adult age than that is baffling to me.
People who get hooked on drugs as adults is usually because of pain management or from a partner introducing them to drugs. Some say June got addicted to pain medication after her weightloss/skin removal surgery. Geno could have introduced her to the street drugs.
I was thinking the same thing. I also think she may have become addicted from all her surgeries and Geno could have introduced the street drugs when dr cut off her pain meds.
That really would make sense: she could have gotten addicted to pain meds, as those are just routinely pushed on patients after surgeries, and most doctors don’t point out the risks, or that you can try, for example, just ibuprofen first and see if that is enough for your post-surgical pain. It also makes sense that, after her weight-loss surgery, a secondary addiction (food addiction being primary) could have easily taken hold, as it is harder (but not impossible) to overeat once you have weight loss surgery.
Man. What a mess. So many factors probably all converged and resulted in the current heartbreaking situation. May the right help be put in front of June and her family, and may she choose to take it and get healthy, in every sense.
But you acted like an adult just walked down the street, picked up a crack pipe and decided to take up an addiction. (Why any adult would pick up a drug habit). That’s not how addiction works, believe me – no one wakes up and says, oh I think I’ll try some cracked cocaine. It’s been building.
Based on what is known about her childhood and complete lack of stability/trauma from the get go, plus the area she grew up in and was living, I highly, HIGHLY doubt she just recently started using. It’s much more likely that she was using in the past, was an occasional user and turned into a ‘functioning’ addict. She was probably able to keep it under wraps. Things seem to have gotten extremely bad since this boyfriend came around. She now has someone to use with plus money. It’s clear she’s at a point in her addiction where she no longer cares about the wellbeing of her children. She will either hit rock bottom and accept help (sadly the arrest was not it), or she will die. Her path seems already paved.
Twittafame, I posted a reply to your thoughtful post but somehow it is up at the top of the thread instead of as a response to yours. Anyway, this is just so sad and I agree “her path seems already paved”, yet I do hope it isn’t too late to find, and choose, a healthy fork in the road.
Geno is at least 3 episodes of Dr. Pimple Popper. Surely that cyst on his neck does NOT go unnoticed.
How is this dumpster fire of a family still on TV?
So have worked for 2 casinos and I’m not sure how this works.
But how does someone actually live at a casino?
Are they living at it’s hotel? Because that plus drugs she is going to be broke sooner than later.
Yes- this casino has a hotel attached to it. She is “living” in the hotel portion.
Ok, no one will accuse June of being smart… but she needs rehab, maybe a different one, and need tons of therapy. It isn’t just the drugs, June got pregnant at 14 and had Anna right after she turned 15. To me, coupled with her gravitation towards pedos, seems likely June was sexual abused herself so it’s her “norm”. Her blindness comes from childhood cataracts that was left untreated… so, shit neglectful parents. June probably ate her feelings of being tossed aside and believing no one decent would love her being blind, overweight, with child(ren) in tow. Then here comes TLC throwing gobs of money at poor choices because unfortunately we as a society enjoy a good trainwreck.
Then June keeps doing June, goes back to the Pedo that assaulted Anna. Backlash, but THEN another company throws money at her to change her outward appearance with ZERO work on her own internal issues. So now, in an effort to not be *fat* which plagued her her whole life, she started using drugs and starting dating another shit dude but probably thought, “Hey atleast he’s not a Pedo” (that we know). I’m not defending June, but she is a flawed addict, and with most addicts (food, drugs, shopping, whatever) they are general covering up pain from a trauma and or self medicating a mental illness. Godspeed June, your kids need thier mama and they love you no matter what you think about yourself
I saw her mom at SB wedding, curious how she was when June was growing up? Did June have a lot of “Uncles”?
That could explain a whole lot.
But I would think she would want to protect her children more.
SB = Sugar Bear? Or Spring Break, South Beach, etc ?
I cannot speak to her mother’s parenting, but if any parent allows a childhood illness to go unchecked, especially if it leaves said child BLIND – You done fucked up. Secondly, I’m not venting towards you RB, but June is NOT in a sane mindset of protecting her kids. When June took back up with the Pedo that abused Anna, she literally had Anna, and TLC, plus tons of fans saying, “OMG, Why are you with someone who abused your child!?!” June was all “the abuse didn’t happen”… fast forward to now her response to Alana, June’s denial over her drug use and insist Alana moved in with Pumpkin by *choice*. June is in denial.
I don’t watch any of the shows, I just follow what I find here at The Ashley. But it breaks my heart to see her kids, especially Alana, so upset about the state that their mother is in. I understand that addiction is a disease and that the vast majority of addicts need professional help. Even with help, so many relapse and require additional help, multiple times, to get it under control…but with really,really hard work, it’s absolutely possible.
It’s also so difficult to hear Mama June talk about wanting to kill the person she’s become. That’s what addiction is- it’s not the true, genuine, motherly, funny, caring, loving “You” that you want to kill, it’s the “you” that the addiction center of your brain made with the help of drugs. You CAN get though this. My heart aches for everyone involved.
Me, too. Well said, Jodi (and RB, just above your comment). Very thoughtful comments on this site, I’m impressed. it is refreshing not to see hateful posts, not saying specifically about this subject but just anywhere and everywhere on the internet. I’m glad there are still thoughtful, caring people in this world who understand shades of gray and complexity.
P.S. In my comment above, where I wrote “…and RB, just above your comment”, I actually meant “…and Pain in the Ash, just above your comment”, as that is the other comment I was referring to.
She traded her addiction to food into an addiction to men,drugs and gambling. Talk about addictive personality.