WEtv has posted a clip of Friday’s emotional episode of Mama June: From Not to Hot which shows the last day of life for Mama June Shannon‘s daughter, Anna Cardwell, as the family says their goodbyes. However, some of the show’s fans are speaking out (via social media), calling the footage “exploitive” and criticizing the network for filming Anna as she was dying– and June for allowing it.
As fans of the shows are aware, Anna passed away December 9 following a nearly year-long battle with cancer. It’s been stated that Anna wanted to film her cancer battle for ‘Mama June: Family Crisis’; however, some fans feel the cameras should have been put down during Anna’s final day as a sign of respect.
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During Friday’s episode, Anna’s youngest sister, Alana Thompson, jumps on a flight home to be with Anna in her final days. Alana makes it home in time to speak to Anna, but later that day, Anna is barely able to speak.
“I do recommend that y’all say y’alls goodbyes today,” Mama June tells Alana and Pumpkin in the clip.
The camera shows Anna, sitting on the couch while wearing an oxygen cannula and closing her eyes. June tells the group that Anna is no longer “coherent” but Alana tries to speak to her sister anyway. Anna is unable to speak, but manages to mumble and groan a bit in response to Alana.
The heartbreaking scene did not sit well with viewers, many of whom voiced their opinions.
“This seems wrong to film, so wrong,” one person wrote in the comment section of the post to WEtv’s YouTube channel.
“I hate that this was filmed and the world is watching,” another person wrote.
“This shouldn’t have been filmed,” someone else commented, to which another person replied, “But June loves the money.”
Weeks after Anna’s death, her husband Eldridge Toney, told People that Anna had agreed to film her fight against Stage 4 Adrenal Carcinoma.
“The filming was something that Anna wanted to do,” he told the magazine. “She wanted to bring awareness to her rare type of cancer because there is still so much unknown about it and it is very rare.”
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(He did not, however, state that Anna also wanted to be filmed while on her deathbed.)
June and the family reportedly offered to let their WEtv production crew film Anna’s final moments of life and her death for the show but the production team reportedly declined. Her funeral was also not filmed, due to the film crew attending it as guests.
‘Mama June: Family Crisis’ airs Fridays on WEtv. You can watch the clip in question below.
(Photos: WEtv; Instagram)
19 Responses
Out of respect for Anna her final days should not have been filmed and the camera crew should’ve known this.
Anna clearly was in no state to say stop filming she couldn’t even communicate with her family.
June and the family should’ve stopped it.
Listen, Mama June is a despicable human being, we can all agree. But legally Anna was an adult and therefore her mother cannot make legal decisions for her unless it’s stated in a legal document. In most states, if the person is incapacitated enough, the spouse would be in charge of decisions not the parent. Unless there’s a document specifically stating that June had decision making abilities for Anna, I’m not sure that legally, she’s to blame for this.
Exactly, thanks!
She’s to be blamed for encouraging it. She’s to be blamed for ASKING them to come film her literally die. She’s to be blamed for taking advantage of someone under the guise of potentially helping her children after she passes. She’s to be blamed for making money off the show which was filming some of the most brutal and finite moments of another person’s life. Really, she’s to be blamed for a lot of things.
Yes, Anna was a grown women and, mostly, capable of making many decisions on her own. The only thing June is not to be blamed for, is making up Anna’s mind for her. But getting her to the point of making some of the decisions she did end up making…100% on June, period, full stop.
This is entertainment? Believe I’ll pass. If she wanted film that’s cool, but it doesn’t mean I have to watch. RIP Chickadee.
This is what pissed me off, when you can hear Anna yelling in the bedroom by herself dying and Mama June is in the other room saying it’s going to be okay just messing around on her phone that pissed me off
I think it’s weird we scream we want unscripted television and then freak out when it doesn’t follow the script we want. We film birth and death is no different. Anna stated she wanted her journey documented and my guess is that included her death since her husband, who is very protective of her, allowed to continue. If she was opposed he would have stopped it as well as her siblings. The fight alone would have made for good tv and June would still make money. Is it uncomfortable to watch? Yup. Is it real. Yup.
Because people are full of shit. They will find anything to complain about.
This is so disgusting to read, I can’t imagine watching it. Every person involved in this should be ashamed of themselves but we know Mama June has no shame at all.
I really have nothing good to say about Mama June so I digress but why is it that we can show a birth but not a death? I get that people feel she was being used by MJ for ratings (and probably so) but I think we closet death too much. I’m not saying let’s go film everyone dying but don’t be afraid of it. I think we make too big of a deal about it. It is as natural a thing as birth. Just like when you’re in the womb you don’t know what is on the other side waiting for you. It might be something really good and we just don’t know it yet. ❤️
I agree with you. This is real life. People develop cancer and sometimes die. I believe Anna absolutely consented to it and wanted people to see the reality. Is it pretty? No. It’s definitely not funny, but sometimes reality is very harsh. I don’t think much of mama June, but I don’t believe she “exploited “ her this time.
On the whole, I agree. Every one of us is going to breathe a last breath. It’s a totally natural part of life, that we will all face one day.
Yes the contrast to birth- only applicable to about half the world’s population- is funny.
Do I agree that THIS was the death that should be aired? No. This was a cheap and nasty money grab. Thank goodness TLC had the wherewithal to draw the line, bc MJ has no line.
I think under a lot of other circumstances, most people probably agree with you. Even in this circumstances on some levels, with certain aspects, people may agree with you.
But when you look at the whole picture, everyone involved, the entire past leading up to this very point and you take alllllllll of that into account, it’s just not the same as it might be if circumstances and people involved were different.
Death is just as natural as birth-well, under many circumstances. It’s perfectly fine to not fear death, it’s also perfectly fine to fear it, too. It’s generally fine to be curious, just as it’s fine to not be. What’s not fine and what changes a lot of this particular instance, is the culmination of a lifelong pattern of a grown ass woman taking full advantage of children she birthed well into their adult ages. What SHE wanted out of it, not what Anna wanted out of it. Anna may or may not have really fully understood what it all entailed, but we have to remember that she lived with June who pulled this shit her entire life. If she could make a penny off her kid coughing, she would. This wasn’t a celebration of Anna’s life, while dealing with the difficulties of her pending death. THAT, I believe, is what Anna really wanted. She wanted to highlight the good, while also not forgetting the bad. She wanted it to do some good for others, most specifically, her kids. Sadly, that’s not what June wanted and that’s not what happened. Her kids got nothing positive from it, did not benefit from it financially, and now will have living breathing proof of the worst moments of their mom’s life that will live on forever. That’s not “dealing with it”, that’s June taking advantage until Anna’s last living breath and that’s sick beyond repair.
But what about her children having to see her dying last moments? What about her children having to see her take her last breath? No, that kind of filming was inappropriate and cruel to her children.
this vile cow will stoop as low as she possibly can, all for a buck….
There is no bottom to June, the bottom is in hell. I won’t even give a click to this network or her to preview the clip. It is abhorrent that a network would film this, and that a mother would consent to this image of her daughter to be part of her legacy. I won’t hold my breath, but every damn cent June made off of this season should go to Anna’s daughters. It’s not going to take away the sting of losing their mother, but at least their mother’s video documentary of her suffering can help them in the future. Ugh.
My God. Poor Anna. I do not believe that she was coherent enough to give consent for them to film her on her deathbed. Nor do I believe for a second that she was coherent enough to make a decision for Kaitlyn to be raised by the same mother that allowed Anna to be sexually abused, stole from Anna and Alana and can’t even raise her own kids!
I felt like they used Anna’s death and illness for a ratings boost. None of them have shown an ounce of compassion towards Anna. This cancer wreaked havoc on her body and killed her in 10 months. She was 29 years old. She never dreamed she would be saying goodbye to her daughters.
Pumpkin has almost a smirk on her face. I get that Anna wanted Alana to go to college and no doubt would be proud of Alana for finishing her first semester. But she is literally dying. Probably in a great deal of pain. Alana shaking her and screaming “ANNA,I FINISHED MY FIRST SEMESTER OF COLLEGE”. was highly inappropriate.
I also will NEVER forget that June filmed a tik tok when Anna was dying. She was smacking her lips, talking about Anna like she was already gone but the most disturbing part was that you could hear Anna moaning in pain throughout the entire video.
Fuck every single one of them. Anna, R.I.P. hopefully Michael gets custody of Kaitlyn so the two girls can be raised together in a loving and safe environment.
Re: the TikTok.. nooooooo. Omg. Poor Anna. Gdammit. Terrible terrible act for a mother of a dying child.
Mama June is right up there with Amber, Jenelle and Farrah, ain’t she?
It’s Mama June, and we expect standards? This is the same daughter she allowed to be SAed. And then dated the dude again. There is no bottom.