Anna Marie Cardwell, one of the stars from former TLC hit show, Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, is opening up about the recent scandal involving her mother Mama June and the man who molested her over a decade ago.
Cardwell told People during an interview that when she was 8 years old, registered sex offender Mark McDaniel would touch her inappropriately while he was dating her own mother. McDaniel was reportedly released from prison in March after serving a 10-year sentence for aggravated child molestation.
Soon after the news broke that Mama June and McDaniel were rumored to be back together as a couple, TLC canceled the show.
The 20 year old, who went by the nickname “Chickadee” on the show, explained in the interview that she doesn’t know if she should believe her mother or the tabloids. "I'm just confused, I'm hearing one story from Mama and another one from someone else,” she said.
After the news broke, Mama June tried to clear up those rumors claiming that she is dating McDaniel via her Facebook page. She wrote, “I want to make a post trying to clear up the rumors remember you can't believe everything you read! Ppl sell stories to the tabloid everyday that r false! It isnt true i promise my kids r #1 priority over anything else and I would never put them in danger period over this or anything else they r my life this is my past I left him 10 yrs ago for it and I wouldn't go back.”
But even though Mama June denied the reports, Cardwell is still going back and forth of what to believe. "My whole body believes that she is telling the truth," she continues, "but my mind is going back and forth from you know, hey, she's telling the truth or she's not telling the truth, but most of me believes her."
Even though she has not fully decided who to believe, Cardwell did admit that it would hurt her if her mother was dating the man who molested her as a child. “I would feel hurt. I would not feel betrayed, but I would feel hurt. You know the past should be in the past and it should stay in the past and not come back out,” she said.
Cardwell is the mother of a two year old daughter named Kaitlyn and explained in the interview that Mama June will have to make some sacrifices if she wants to see her granddaughter. "I would not let her see Kaitlyn unless Mark is out of the picture or away because I don't want him nowhere near my child, nowhere close to her," Cardwell said.