TLC finally cancels ‘Honey Boo Boo,’ Mama June dating child molester Mark McDaniel
The Honey Boo Boo fan is finally over as TLC has cancelled Here Comes Honey Boo Boo amid reports that Mama June is dating a convicted child molester, TVLine has confirmed.
“TLC has cancelled the series Here Comes Honey Boo Boo and ended all activities around the series, effective immediately,” the network said in a statement. “Supporting the health and welfare of these remarkable children is our only priority. TLC is faithfully committed to the children’s ongoing comfort and well-being.”
A fifth season of the show was shot but will not air.
TMZ broke the new that “June has been secretly dating Mark McDaniel, who got out of prison in March after serving 10 years for forcing oral sex on an 8-year-old.”
The gossip news site says June has denied the reports, but they obtained a photo and published the “evidence” in a new Oct. 24 article.
Honey Boo Boo has been widely criticized with The Hollywood Reporter calling the show “horrifying,” explaining: “You know this show is exploitation. TLC knows it. Maybe even Mama and HBB know it, deep down in their rotund bodies. Here Comes Honey Boo Boo is a car crash, and everybody rubber-necks at a car crash, right? It’s human nature. Yes, except that if you play that card, you also have to realize that human nature comes with the capacity to draw a line, to hold fast against the dehumanization and incremental tearing down of the social fabric, even if this never-ending onslaught of reality television suggests that’s a losing effort. You can say no to visual exploitation. You can say no to TLC. And you can say no to Honey Boo Boo Child. Somebody has to…”
More from TMZ:
TLC has shot an entire new season of episodes but will not air them. Although the show has fallen off its ratings high, we’re told it’s still very profitable, so TLC is taking a financial hit.But the network is not turning its back on the kids, telling us, “Supporting the health and welfare of these remarkable children is our only priority. TLC is faithfully committed to the children’s ongoing comfort and well-being.” Our sources say the network will pay for tutors and counselors for the kids.