Mama June is about to find herself back in the courtroom after ending up on the wrong side of her granddaughter Kylee’s other grandmother.
YouTuber Elle Bee broke the news on Thursday that the Mama June: Family Crisis star is being sued for defamation by Tanya Cardwell, the mother of Michael Cardwell— Kylee’s father and the person June recently battled in court for custody of her other granddaughter Kaitlyn.
Got all that?
As The Ashley has previously reported, Michael received sole custody of Kylee after his ex-wife Anna Cardwell passed away from cancer in December 2023. Immediately following Anna’s death, Michael also filed for custody of Anna’s daughter Kaitlyn— whom, despite not being Michael’s biological daughter, had considered Michael to be her father figure. Michael and June battled it out in court (and on The Interwebs) until September, when a judge awarded full custody of Kaitlyn to June.
View this post on Instagram
Now, however, Michael’s mother has taken legal action against June, claiming that the reality TV star has defamed her. In late December, June filed a response to Tanya’s lawsuit.
According to the official Notice of Hearing– obtained by Elle Bee and received by Tanya– a hearing was originally set to be heard on January 14. (June and Tanya were notified that “appropriate attire” was required.)
In her response to Tanya’s defamation lawsuit, June claims she did not defame her co-granny.
“I haven’t done anything I’m being accused of,” June wrote in her official statement, before insinuating that Tanya is likely only taking this legal action against her because she’s upset that Michael lost the custody battle for Kaitlyn.
“This is coming right after Tanya Cardwell’s son lost a custody case against me,” June wrote. “I want to countersue for my time and pain and suffering this is going to cause, plus court cost.”
According to Elle Bee, Tanya’s defamation claims likely stem from things June said about Tanya and the Cardwell family during times she would go Live on social media during her trial against Michael. (As The Ashley previously reported, June alleged online and in filed court docs that Michael was abusive to Anna during their marriage. June also insinuated that Michael had addiction issues.)
June also somehow got the idea (and allegedly vocalized it to her fans) that Tanya used her job as an insurance agent to somehow help Michael obtain a life insurance policy on Anna after she was diagnosed with cancer, so that Michael could be the beneficiary. (There is no evidence that this has any truth to it, though.)
This, according to Elle Bee, angered Tanya, and was one of the catalysts in her filing her lawsuit against June for defamation.
The Ashley is working to get more details on the lawsuit, including the amount of damages Tanya is seeking from June. The Magistrate Court of Wilkinson County, Georgia— where Tanya filed her case— is the county’s small claims court and only handles claims that are seeking $15,000 or less.
Just last month, June publicly called out Michael for not allowing her and her family to see Kylee. According to June, Michael moved to Alabama after marrying London Smith in September, which put even more distance between Kylee and June’s family.
“We had to also deal with Michael taking Kylee away from everybody here and moving to Alabama,” she told People magazine in December, adding that she expressed to Michael that she was worried Kaitlyn and Kylee wouldn’t see each other if he moved away with Kylee. “Boom. The court case ends, he gets remarried and they move back to Sylacauga, Alabama.”
(Sylacauga, Alabama, is about four hours away from June’s current home in Ivey, Georgia, just FYI.)
June made it clear that Kylee and Kaitlyn have access to each other and have been able to spend time together, and that Kaitlyn has spent time with Michael and his family (who also helped raise her). However, June said that she and her family members have not been allowed to take Kylee for a visit since she went to live with Michael.
“We weren’t able to say our goodbyes and spend time with Kylee,” June said. “We want to see Kylee, but the message was — to me from Michael — that Kylee is not going out of his sight, and if he has to pay for that later then he will.”
The Ashley will continue to update on this court case as more information comes in.
(Photos: WEtv; Facebook; Instagram)
2 Responses
Good for Mrs. Cardwell, I hope she wins the lawsuit.
Also I find it plain disgusting that two sisters who lost their mother are being raised separate from each other. They’ve lost enough. They should be living together with Michael.
Hmm well, Kylees other grandma isn’t a public figure so…
RE: them pink stripes, she thought she was doing highlights right?