Honey Boo Boo’s 18 year-old sister had a baby with two thumbs on one hand


We heard the spoilers about this plotline in the new Honey Boo Boo TLC reality show in an earlier article we covered from The National Enquirer. It’s worth mentioning for the fact that People Magazine is now covering it. Honey Boo Boo is a ratings hit for the network, and the show is not going away. I’m hoping that this has a similar fame arc as that polygamist family who stars on Sister Wives. Interest will probably die down after the second season, when the fame and money start to change the characters’ lives and they’re no longer the down-to-earth people we saw in the first season. For now, the show is brand new and we’re stuck with them.

The family has confirmed to People Magazine that their newest member, Kaitlyn, five weeks, was born with an abnormality and has two thumbs on one hand, but matriarch June denies the Enquirer’s version that she mocked her granddaughter at all. The baby was born to June’s oldest daughter, Anna, who is either 17 or 18 depending on which reports you believe. She may have just turned 18. Here’s more:

The littlest member of the loud, proudly redneck family in TLC’s hit reality series Here Comes Honey Boo Boo is already sparking controversy.

Tabloid reports have claimed that outspoken matriarch “Mama” June has mocked her 5-week-old granddaughter Kaitlyn, who was born with four fingers and two thumbs on the right hand.

Not true, June, 33, says of the reports. “We have embraced [the abnormality]. It makes Kaitlyn more special to us.”

The baby, whose mom is June’s 18-year-old daughter Anna, was born on July 26 weighing 6 lbs., 2 oz. June – herself a teenage mom who was just 15 when she had Anna – has been helping to care for Kaitlyn while Anna prepares to finish her senior year of high school in the family’s hometown of McIntyre, Ga.

“Sometimes my mama gives me pointers,” says Anna, who declines to name the baby’s father and says he is not in the picture. “Sometimes I just learn on my own.”

Of course, the baby also has a very young aunt to keep her entertained: Alana “Honey Boo Boo,” Thompson, who turned 7 Tuesday. (She shares the birthday with big sis Anna.)

Says Alana: “Baby Kaitlyn’s so cute.”

[From People]

Honestly, I watched half of the first episode and I found myself liking them. (Some unexpected company came over and was like “what the hell are you watching?” or I would have finished it.) The goofy, colloquial way they speak is only part of the appeal. Mom June is not dumb, she just plays like she is, and you can tell that she loves her daughters and has a close bond with them despite the fact that she made little Alana into a trash-talking pageant tot. I was kind of appalled by the crap they were eating, though, and I don’t know if I’ll continue to watch it. Overall it seems like we’re being encouraged to gawk while the family tries to play up stereotypes. I guess that’s the formula for a lot of reality shows, only this is a “redneck” one. (I would say it’s unique, but I’ve seen enough clips of other shows on The Soup to know that it’s not.)

Oh and I have to mention this story in The Daily Mail that Honey Boo Boo’s 12 year-old sister dipped her little five week-old niece’s pacifier in some kind of soda (they say it’s Mountain Dew, but does it come in those kinds of cans? Pics are at this link) and then gave it back to her. I’ve heard friends say that their mom gave them sips of coke as a baby and it’s not a big deal, but it still kind of shocked me. This isn’t a one-year-old having a little soda, it’s a one month old being fed it. I know it’s just a taste, but why give that crap to a baby who should only be drinking milk or formula? Oh and the pics do show the baby’s two thumbs on one hand. I had to look for it, because I was focused on how sweet and tiny the baby was.

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

112 Responses to “Honey Boo Boo’s 18 year-old sister had a baby with two thumbs on one hand”

Comments are Closed

We close comments on older posts to fight comment spam.

  1. Katyusha says:

    They all have the same teeth.

    • Janice says:

      Dont like those teeth. Don’t care much for this honey boo boo thing too.

      • Mitch Buchanan Rocks! says:

        Agree – it is creepy.

      • princesslizabeth says:

        +1

        This whole family is very…off.

      • TheOriginalKitten says:

        They ARE lucky to have teeth. Mountain Dew Mouth is an epidemic in Appalachia.

        http://consumerist.com/2009/02/mountain-dew-addiction-helps-rot-central-appalachins-teeth.html

      • Rachel says:

        TheOriginalKitten’s link mentions that people use Mountain Dew as an antidepressant, which makes sense to me. If you are self-medicating for depression, sugar and caffeine can really help. Maybe we should be talking more about the need for mental health care in Appalachia (and other depressed regions of the country)?

      • OriginalTiffany says:

        So gross. Soda is against my religion.

        Mountain dew is so sweet!

        OK, in Cali maybe once a year I drink a Cactus Cooler.

        Giving it to a one month old? Weid. This show? Weird. This family? Gross.

        I had to watch this crap while recovering. I only get basic cable and can only watch so much news. We get weird channels sometimes-it’s a crapshoot.

    • bondbabe says:

      At least they HAVE teeth!

    • Bodhi says:

      They don’t live in Appalachia

      • ZenB!tch says:

        I couldn’t sit though an episode long enough to know where they are. I know from this board that they are in Georgia and that the people on this board and my friends in ATL are a tad embarrassed by them as I would be if they did a show on San Bernardino County, CA.

        I thought they were in the part of Georgia where the Appalachians begin. I went to a park up in North Georgia (almost up to Tennessee) and the land was gorgeous and definitely part of some mountain range.

        Do you or anyone else know the name of the town or whatever it is where they live?

      • MorticiansDoItDeader says:

        @kitten, careful! I got reamed out on here for calling mountain dew “Appalachian Apple Juice,” after I saw a special about exactly what you’re referring to.

      • OriginalTiffany says:

        @Zenbitch, SB county is more than Moreno valley and SB!
        I take umbrage:)

        I grew up in the town on the edge between LA and SB county. Upland and Alta Loma are so nice, totally filled with million dollar homes. Get out past Etiwanda and all bets are off. And the high desert is another methlab hell hole.
        There are a few gems…until you get past or above the 15. Then I totally agree.

    • ZenB!tch says:

      @Rachel I think we need to do more than get mental health services to Appalachia. I think we need to get an infrastructure and jobs to Appalachia and most of all access to education.

      Who wouldn’t be depressed living like those ads for Feed the Children – Appalachia do? I always got the feeling that the area is a bit isolated and that makes it hard to do anything but keep the cycle going.

      I was never for affirmative action because I didn’t like that it was based on race vs. economics. I’m Hispanic and female so I qualified at some schools, like UCLA. I chose to go to a private college where I was viewed on my own merits.

      However, I always recognized that some people need a boost and to me those people are very poor, either very urban or very rural and come in all colors.

    • Genevieve says:

      I have only one cautionary statement:

      Inbred rednecks beget other inbred rednecks.

      I’m from the South, I’ve seen families like this. “Hey, I’d like to introduce you to my sister who’s my mother who’s my aunt”.

      Go ahead, fire away.

      • OriginalTiffany says:

        Someone please tell me Atlanta is not this way. Its cosmopolitan isn’t it? I just hear we might get mugged.
        If I take a drive into the country is this what I find?

        So far, in the South I have just lived in Charlotte.

      • marie says:

        O Tiff.. I live 30 minutes north of Atlanta and can tell you that no, that is not Atlanta.

      • OriginalTiffany says:

        Good to know;) I expect Atlanta to be just fine.

        I’m looking forward to it. I try to enjoy each city as it comes. I can’t change it, so I just roll with it.

        I’m not so sure about Ottawa, but we shall see. GA is next up.

      • Genevieve says:

        @ OTiff….NO, thank God, Atlanta is not that way.

        Now get in the car and head down Macon way, in the country? Un-huh. :0

  2. sara says:

    You can be a redneck without being as gross as these people are

    • idk says:

      So this is what white supremists are fighting for? LOL. This is an embarassment to an entire sub-culture of a race. It’s like they took every stereotype and times it by 10000000. Disgusting.

  3. mel says:

    “Overall it seems like we’re being encouraged to gawk while the family tries to play up stereotypes” – um yes we are.

    • Erinn says:

      Isn’t that how most, if not all, reality shows are? They play up persona’s and things to get ratings.

      • mel says:

        You are right 🙂 I do watch some reality (American Pickers, etc) – but I guess I have a hard time when kids are involved…I just think this show makes fun of Honey Boo Boo and its sad.

      • Erinn says:

        Ahaha, I’m guilty of reality tv watching now. I’ve been watching a lot lately since my shows haven’t started up yet.

        I really didn’t like Honey Boo Boo at first… but the kids grown on me. I feel bad for her.

  4. NorthernGirl_20 says:

    My son was born with 2 thumbs as well, it was removed when he was 6 months old not a big deal. I was born without a working thumb and had to have a very large operation when I was 3 to correct that, and now have only four fingers on my right hand. It happens. The baby is adorable.

    • teri says:

      I was born with two thumbs on my right hand and it was removed the day after I was born. No big deal, it doesn’t bother me, left a permant scar where stiches were put in. I think it only hurts when family members think they are cute and joke about it. I still think it was due to my dad being in Vietnam and getting Agent Orange.

  5. lucy2 says:

    Grandma at 33. Wow.

    Good luck to the baby.

  6. Emily says:

    This is a little unrelated, but I think it every time I see something about this story. Why didn’t they have the extra thumb removed at birth? I thought this extra-digit thing was common enough that it’s pretty standard to just remove it right away.

    • Fatkid says:

      It depends on how fully formed the extra digit is. The more bone structure present in it, the longer they need to wait to remove it because the surgery becomes more complicated. Assuming they have insurance to cover the babies operation.

    • NerdMomma says:

      Maybe they’re just giving her time to get a little stronger before they do the surgery…or maybe they need to let her develop a little more to see which thumb is the dominant one so they’re sure they are removing the correct extra thumb? She is precious and now I really want to hold a newborn!!

      • MorticiansDoItDeader says:

        I’m guessing it’s because newborns are immunosuppressed and the surgery is cosmetic, so they wouldn’t want to put the baby’s life at risk for a cosmetic procedure.

      • OriginalTiffany says:

        They can do it any time as long as the baby is an infant. I’m sure Mort knows from post mortem X-rays that infants barely have any bones formed especially hands and feet.
        They look like little floating bone islands. Hopefully they will do it soon, but somehow I wouldn’t be surprised if they left the kiddo this way. More interesting, you know…

      • Jen says:

        Polydactly is a dominant trait, so if it’s true polydactyly, not really that abnormal or uncommon. The digit usually isn’t a fully formed one, though, and in cases I’ve known, has sort of been an “in between” digit between other fingers/toes that doesn’t normally. A friend of mine, who was poly, just had a baby with it, who had his extra finger removed at a few months old.

    • stinky says:

      sh*t happens. its natural. wake me up when someone’s born w/ a tail tho.

      • Lushus L. says:

        Stinky, I was thinking the same thing!!! Sometimes, I check my husband’s behind for snipping scars.LOL

    • Shannon says:

      It depends on how useable it is too. My grandma was born with an extra pinky, but it had no bone in it so it was removed right away. But I don’t think doctors encourage cutting off a perfectly good extra finger as long as it’s not interfering with normal hand function, but then again I’m sure a lot of parents opt to do it anyway to avoid having their kid feel “different.”

    • Amy says:

      A really cynical part of me wonders if TLC will convince the family to keep the extra thumb for the show and for the “freak” factor.

      Don’t forget that this is also the network that frequently airs programming about differently abled people (The Boy Whose Skin Fell Off, The Man Who Lost His Face, etc, etc.). Plus Abby and Brittany, the conjoined twins, just got their own show on the network, too. I know that a little extra thumb is hardly “freaky” on the same level, but still…

  7. Kim says:

    It was Mountain Dew Code Red that the twelve year old dipped the pacifier in I saw pics on Inside Edition

  8. Messenger says:

    how are these people any different than all the other reality show “stars” who cash in their personal lives and their privacy for a big pay off? because some are packaged more palatably? they are ALL cut from the same cloth.imo

    • Marie Antoinette Jr. says:

      I agree with you Messenger. The only difference between Alexis Bellino and the Honey Boo Boos of the world is that one values what you can get at Nordstroms more than the other!

  9. Fatkid says:

    The baby’s condition is referred to as polydactyl and apparently is pretty common. The usually want to remove the extra digit pretty early to allow the rest of the baby’s hand to grow normally and to allow the baby to develop the proper motor skills.
    My niece has surgery on her hand next month, until then extra nail polish!

  10. dorothy says:

    Well what do you expect when you inter-breed?

  11. TG says:

    I remember a girl on my school bus years and years and years ago who had a double thumb.

  12. Zorbitor says:

    Roseanne and Tom Arnold should pay them a visit.

  13. Starsky says:

    I’m broke right now and had to buy groceries with $30 until I get paid on Friday. That $30 went a LOT farther with processed/junk food than healthy food. Its too bad its like that. I could buy peanut butter/jelly/bread and pasta a lot cheaper than vegetables.

    • stinky says:

      i just paid $3. a lb for yams at two different stores. i was shocked. i kept looking around like “really? $3. for a stinkin’ yam?” they’re heavy, ya know? they cost ALOT! (scary) pretty soon we’ll be eating Soylent Green for realz y’all.

    • OriginalTiffany says:

      I have been spending about 400 a week on food right now! DC is expensive. when the kids go back to school, it’s free healthy food at Cirque, much cheaper than feeding teenagers.

  14. Momo says:

    Is anybody else concerned that her father is the father of her child? She is tight lipped about who the dad is, AND her baby has a defect that could POSSIBLY be from inbreeding? Or am I being a judgmental hose queen?

    • Amanda_M87 says:

      How do we know that June’s husband is her oldest daughter’s dad? He might just be her stepdad. Still creepy though if he is in fact the dad.

      • Junegorilla says:

        Judge mental hose queen please get in your Obama stickered Prius and go away. To make an assumption that rednecks are all incestuous inbreed res is like assuming that all gay men are pedophiles.

      • megs says:

        I hate that I know this, but she’s said she has been with “sugar bear” for 8 years. It would appear he’s only the youngest ones dad.

    • NorthernGirl_20 says:

      Umm as I said above, my son was born with 2 thumbs and it is NOT a result of inbreeding. It’s actually quite common, however I suppose it is genetic. I’ve only watched the show briefly because of reading about it here so I can’t really comment on the father of the girls – seems like a quiet guy.

      • Erinn says:

        I think it’s a bit quick to jump to assuming the father of the baby is the kid’s father. I think he’s actually her step father- I’m pretty sure that was mentioned in one of these threads before.

        It’s just perpetuating stereotypes to make that assumption. Sometimes things just happen, and kids have genetic quirks.

        EDIT: this wasn’t a response to your comment NortherGirl, I meant it as an agreement of your point, and a comment to this string of posts.

    • Flora Kitty says:

      Sugar Bear is Alana’s biological father and she has his last name. The three older daughters all have different biological fathers and they have their mother’s last name.

    • Jo 'Mama' Besser says:

      ‘Obama-stickered Prius’? Huh?

    • ZenB!tch says:

      @Momo I agree with you and I hate Obama and I have an SUV.

      All rednecks may not be incestuous but that does not mean these rednecks aren’t. It just means the others are probably better than these horrid things.

      Those photos make me want to throw up – that does not look like mud on that child’s face.

    • Leslie says:

      Just because the father of the baby has not been around, why do people assume that Sugar Beaar is the father? That is some nasty stuff. As far as i can tell he is the father of all four girls. Having an extra thumb or finger or whatever is not just because of inbreeding….it’s a birth defect that happens to a lot of people. So people are born without finger. It’s a genetic thing. Are you people serious?? Inbreeding may cause that but it also causes many more things. Different things. People please read.

    • Leslie says:

      Just because the father of the baby has not been around, why do people assume that Sugar Bear is the father? Thats some nasty stuff. As far as i can tell he is the father of all four girls. Having an extra thumb or finger is not just because of inbreeding….it’s a birth defect that happens. Some people are born without finger. Some people are born without commom sense or manners. It’s a genetic thing. Are you people serious?? Inbreeding may cause that but it also causes many more things. Different things.

  15. Mr. Stinky FishFace says:

    It clearly shows Mt. Dew on the can in the pictures, thats awful. Kids don’t need soda at all! Hell grown ups don’t need it. My husband let my two year old have a sip of it once and she said it burned and was icky. Thank god!

    • MorticiansDoItDeader says:

      I agree. My four year old has yet to taste soda. I told him that he had to be 6 before he could try it. He has enough energy without any added sugar or caffeine.

      • G says:

        Yep my 7yr old has only just tasted 7up/Sprite and when she burped it burned her nose. Now she won’t drink it…VICTORY!

      • TheOriginalKitten says:

        I posted a link upthread about “Mountain Dew Mouth” in Appalachia. It IS an epidemic and it’s scary/gross.

      • jenna says:

        I also had the experience of soda “burning” my mouth as a kid and too this day I won’t touch it with a 10-ft pole. I’ve got plenty of other bad habits, but fortunately not that one! My dentist comments every time I go in for a cleaning “you must not drink much soda, your teeth are in such great shape!”

      • OriginalTiffany says:

        Yep, my daughter HATES soda. Hates the bubbles. Unsweetened iced tea and water only. My son I have to police, he likes soda. I don’t give it to him but once in a blue moon, but I get a face when I tell him no.

        That’s what us mean old moms do though. At least we are supposed to, right?

  16. logan says:

    Over all this mess leaves me speechless. I live in the middle of no where Pennsylvania and I don’t know any one this “hillzy”. Redneck yes, hunting, fishing, four wheeling, skinny dipping, Wal Mart shopping, beer pong playing rednecks. But this is different, way different.

  17. KellyinSeattle says:

    I hate to say this about a child, but I don’t think Honey Boo Boo Chile is cute or adorable at all. All is can see when I look at her is what she’ll look like in another 20 years when she’s on Jerry Springer.

  18. stinky says:

    they’re mouth-breathers.
    it doesnt matter where they come from.
    theyre everywhere and we’re outnumbered.
    sorry. but they’ll keep breeding, while i choose not to. ick.

    • Marie Antoinette Jr. says:

      I know exactly what you mean stinky. But I choose to look at it as— I know I made the right decision when talentless stupidity is so celebrated like this. I’m so glad I didn’t have kids who will grow up surrounded by this crap. It would break my heart knowing they will work their asses off only to support trash like this.
      Not that I abhor honey boo boo or anything. But the way that unhealthy ignorance and dangerous pastimes (4 wheeling) are accepted and even celebrated in this country is appalling to me.

  19. Jane says:

    I had an amazing teacher who was born with an extra thumb. It was removed when she was a baby. Prior to teaching she worked for NASA and was one of the finalists to go up in the challenger. Thankfully she didn’t make the last cut.

  20. Lushus L. says:

    I like Honey Boo Boo. I give this show two thumbs up!!!

  21. JB says:

    I really think this family is just being themselves- that alone is refreshing. And they do come across as a loving family. They certainly don’t have manners and are crass beyond belief- but who cares? They are happy with who they are- how many people can say that’?

    • Marie Antoinette Jr. says:

      You should care if you pay taxes. I think there is a reason that June and Sugarbear aren’t married. She doesn’t want to count his income against her AFDC.
      And unhealthy, uneducated poor people do tend to become a huge burden on the system. Especially if they are lucky enough to get old.

      • JD says:

        I just read that Mama the Hutt DOES get welfare and child support for the kids, and other family members claim that is the reason she won’t marry daddy boo-boo. Cuts off that welfare cash.

        And she doesn’t even know who the dad is for one of her girls.

        She is almost as gross as Octoskank.

  22. jen d. says:

    I’ve heard of some parents dipping the pacifier in honey to get a baby to start using it. Maybe this is their misguided way of getting the baby to take a paci? Also, that baby is adorable. Ugh, I’m getting the baby aches….

    Completely unrelated, but Anna is a really beautiful girl. I don’t mean to sound so surprised, it’s just that the rest of the family is not… conventionally attractive.

    • MorticiansDoItDeader says:

      That’s not such a good idea. Kids aren’t supposed to have honey until they’re over a year old because of the risk of botulism.

  23. JB says:

    I think this family is just being who they are- that alone is refreshing. They certainly don’t have manners and are crass beyond belief- but who cares? They are happy, funny (not in a laughing AT them kind of funny- they are genuinely witty) and comfortable with who they are- how many people can say that?

  24. GirlyGirl says:

    I give this story 3 thumbs up.

    can’t believe no one else posted that…

  25. hatsumomo says:

    Jesus take the wheel, 18 and and single mother?!?! Ugh! And they blow it off like its no big deal. I have no words for this mess of a family. Just….ew.

    • Shannon says:

      Actually, the mom purposely raised them as a single mom. She discusses it in the first or second episode. She’s had her boyfriend living with them for several years now (he’s Honey Boo Boo’s dad but her older kids have a different father) and he wants to get married, but she refuses. So I’m not surprised that the daughter has a baby and won’t talk about the father.

      • JD says:

        Getting married cuts into her welfare cash.

      • Fiorella says:

        What bothers me is that the mother June wants all her girls to be with her without being married.
        It is okay with this woman to have kids out of the wedlock….OMG
        she only wants Mike around because the poor guy brings money in.
        This 300 plus woman must learn to let her daughter go and meet the dad of the baby.The show will ruin them…if they don’t do the right thing.This June woman is a tough woman without guidance from her mom…she’s teaching her girls all the wrong stuff.
        IT IS NOT OKAY TO BECOME PREGNANT AT15 OR 17…..June wake up and let your grandbaby meet her father.

  26. Samantha says:

    If any of you ever feel lonely or unwanted,just remember that Honey Boo Boo’s mother got laid at least 3 times!

  27. Icy says:

    I’m glad these American hillbilly morons know how to play the sad, lopsided American system. At least they are entertaining and interesting. Most of the rest of America is backwards trash.

    Hugs, Not an American – Thank God.

  28. Kat Scorp says:

    I spent last night reading about a dead toddler left to rot in a cupboard whilst the “carers” were doing meth and weed. Another child in the house brought their neighbourhood friends over to look at the corpse.

    So I’m finding hard to give a phuck about a pacifier being DIPPED in a can of soda by the 12 year old sister. Oh noes, call CPA. FYI Kaitlyn was born several weeks premature; do you expect the doctors to “simply” anaesthetize a premmie and cut the finger off the day after it’s born? I’d assume there would be a waiting period.

  29. Legend says:

    “The Learning Channel” needs to change its fucking name. How about “Freak of the Week”. FTW — fitting.

  30. GirlyGirl says:

    TLC – Total Lack of Class

  31. BitterB says:

    This world isn’t good enough for my kids and that is why I don’t have any. The shame of it all is, is that it is people like me who SHOULD be populating the earth but because humanity is so slow in its advancement, we’ve chosen not to. Many childless people simply have high standards and this is my response to those who question my choices. Shuts them down in a heartbeat.

  32. Jill says:

    What the………..inbreeding???

  33. MizzVJJ says:

    Not that Mountain Dew is all that great, but please don’t think baby formula is far from it. HFCS, GMO’s, pesticides, toxins… Nutrition for our babies!

  34. Leslie says:

    Hey Anna,
    The baby’s father has all the rights to see the baby.Don’t end up like your mom June …she had 3 girls prior to Alana …..without a husband.Don’t let this happened to you.Marry the guy….don’t listen to your mom…she appears to be selfish and jealous.
    Don’t let this stupid show get to you…think of the baby 1st.
    Regarding the extra tumb….the baby she can go through surgery when she’s a little older.She will be fine…and tell your mom not to ”talk 2 much”.

  35. Fiorella says:

    Hey June’
    STOP seeing all these men……
    Whats wrong with you….have respect of your body.You had already at age of 15 until now 33…you have been with so many men…..OMG.
    I bet your mama is crying….