Alana Thompson wants to put 'Honey Boo Boo' behind her

On the cusp of turning 16, reality-TV star Alana Thompson, formerly known as child-pageant contestant and precocious moppet Honey Boo Boo on TLC's "Toddlers & Tiaras" and "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo," is anxious to shed that identity and forge a new one.

"My mama did not name me Honey Boo Boo," Thompson, who turns 16 on Saturday, says in the new issue of Teen Vogue. "My name is Alana."

The declaration seems necessary, she explains, since many social-media commenters tend to think of her as a small child rather than as a teen who wears makeup, lashes and long nails. "I guess people still expect me to be little Honey Boo Boo, and I'm not anymore," the Georgia native tells the magazine. "There are so many folks on my Instagram that do not like my nails or my eyelashes. But I do not care. As long as I like myself, I'm good."

Addressing stereotypes about her rural upbringing — one exacerbated by her starring show, which critics widely assailed for its cartoony depiction of her family — she says that, "Just because I'm from the South, people expect me to be all country bumpkin, out riding four-wheelers all the time, but that's not really how it is."

The plus-size teen additionally says people more readily talk about body positivity than practice it. "I feel like my generation is probably making it worse. Everybody’s all about body positivity, body positivity, until they see a body they don't like." She adds, "I don't understand why people think this way. Just because I got a little bit of extra meat on my bones, you want to hate me? I'll never get body shaming."

She has been under the legal guardianship of her older sister Lauryn "Pumpkin" Shannon since 2019, when their mother, June Shannon, was arrested on drug charges. While Thompson and June Shannon have been reconciling, Thompson says, "When my mama got real bad with her [drug use] , I didn't know where I was going to end up," adding, "I'm proud of myself for how far I've come."

Her current goals, she says, are to graduate from her public high school, attend college, and ultimately to become a nurse. While unspecific about her earnings from the two TLC shows and from her appearances on her mother's WE series, "Mama June: From Not to Hot," which ended its fifth season in June, Thompson says she plans to continue reality-TV and ancillary work in order not to amass large student debt.

On Instagram Wednesday, Thompson wrote, "[T]his is a dream come true, never in million years would I've thought I was gonna be on teen vouge [sic] but look at me now! I'm so thankful & grateful for this opportunity!!"