June Shannon has lost A LOT of weight over the past several months.
But she has not lost her desire to make money off reality television.
The former Here Comes Honey Boo Boo mother disappeared from the spotlight for many years after TLC canceled the series that made her and her family into D-List stars back in the day.
But she popped up again in early 2017 as the anchor of Mama June: From Not to Hot on WEtv.
Although, to be fair, “anchor” may be an unfair word to use here.
The program centered on how Shannon went from weighing over 400 pounds (i.e. NOT) to weighing under 200 pounds (i.e. HOT).
She did so by going on a very strict diet and also by going under the knife on multiple occasions.
In April, Shannon showed off her svelte figure on an episode of her new reality show, blowing away ex-husband Sugar Bear and every viewer who had followed Mama June since her days as… well…
… as an extremely fat person.
We’re not trying to be mean. Shannon was simply overweight and unhealthy by any objective measurement.
Over the course of about six months, however, underwent surgeries that includes:
– The insertion of a gastric sleeve.
– A breast augmentation.
– Skin removal on her “turkey neck,” “bat wings,” and stomach, the latter being area where doctors removed about nine pounds of loose skin.
Shannon now weighs approximately 160 pounds.
It’s a pretty amazing transformation, but it has also created a problem for the star: What does she do now?
Having already gone from “Not” to “Hot,” how does Shannon ride this momentum to another season of reality television?
Easy, according to OK! Weekly: she brings children Alana “Honey Boo Boo” Thompson and Lauryn “Pumpkin” Shannon into the weight loss picture.
“The girls are up for it, because the show will be all about them, and they’ll have their own big paydays,” a source tells the tabloid, adding that filming is already underway on the untitled spinoff.
Like their mother, Alana and Lauryn both share an enjoyment of junk food, along with “sketti,” a pasta-covered-in-butter-and-ketchup concoction that became famous back during the Here Comes Honey Boo Boo days.
Thankfully, neither young woman will undergo any surgery on this upcoming show.
They will instead stick to a healthy diet and be made to exercise on a frequent basis.
Is there something creepy and seemingly inappropriate about a TV show that focuses on the unflattering bodies of two children? Yes.
But it’s hard to find too much fault helping kids eat well and work out often.
“I don’t want them to end up like I did at 460 pounds,” June has previously said of her daughters’ health. “Who would want that?”
And if this series rates well, we really may never stop seeing June Shannon on television.
The same tabloid claims a dating show starring the mother of two could be on tap, depending upon the success of this spinoff.
“Mama June loves fame, and audiences love her,” says the insider.