Young pageant star Alana Thomson, better known as "Honey Boo Boo," is making headlines as she enters her third week of her new show "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo" on TLC.
The sassy six-year-old is joined by her mother, father and three sisters as the family shares their "redneckonize" lifestyle and children's pageants. Thomson first appeared on the screen on TLC's highly successful "Toddlers and Tiaras" as a charming contestant.
The new show, which has audiences laughing over the McIntyre, Ga. family's crazy antics, is being criticized for exploiting the spirited little girl.
In an interview with TODAY, Lisa Belkin of the Huffington Post said, "I don't think it's going to end well with this little girl. And that's why I can't watch it. It's upsetting to watch and think that she didn't sign on for this. She doesn't know what the future is with this being her reputation through life. So yeah, I think it's exploitive."
Despite rising negative attention, the show has climbed to TLC's number one spot, drawing more than 2 million viewers in one week according to USA Today.
"This family is 100% authentic, they are who they are, take it or leave it, but you couldn't make this stuff up," Amy Winter, general manager of TLC, told USA Today. "It's completely unfiltered, a picture of their everyday life in rural Georgia."
"Here Comes Honey Boo Boo" airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. on TLC.