June Shannon on Mark McDaniel: ‘I didn’t know how sickly he was. He’s got leukemia’

Entertainment Tonight aired part one of their very special interview with June Shannon of Here Comes Honey Boo Boo last night. As we saw in yesterday’s preview, June continued to deny, downplay and lie about her relationship with the man convicted of molesting her oldest daughter, Anna, when Anna was 8 years old.
I have to hand it to ET’s Brooke Anderson, she really asked some hard-hitting questions and she followed up. Brooke asked the question a lot of people have wondered: was June abused herself and is that why she behaved so horribly toward her daughter? June admitted that her first sexual experience was at age 12, but she denied getting molested or abused. She also said that by the time she was 14 she was dating men in their 20s and 30s and that her mother knew about it. Brooke asked point blank if June’s very early sexual experiences made her less sensitive to what Anna went through at just eight. June struggled to find the right words, and it looked like she wanted to say “no,” but she didn’t say that. She said “I don’t think that my sexual experiences at a young age makes it anything different than what Anna went through.” Her wording was telling, but that could be due more to stupidity than her half-admitting that she was terrible to her own child. The ET anchors concluded that June remained in denial and that she was downplaying how her daughter was abused. June refused to look at the court papers detailing the abuse that occurred and she looked very angry at times. Here’s some of what she said.
“Do you believe your daughter was molested by Mark?”

After everything everybody’s told me and Anna’s told me, I do believe that, you know, something happened.
On if she’s read the court documents

I have not.
Asks June if she wants to see the court documents

I told Anna not to bring up the past again because I know it’s hard for Anna and it would be hard for me.
“Do you not want to know what she went through?”

She has told me what she went through. The reason I don’t want to [look at the court papers] is because it’s like reliving another memory.
On seeing Mark

Yes I saw this person twice. I didn’t know how sickly he was. He’s got leukemia, he’s got all this stuff on him, he’s got a rare blood disorder, he’s got all this.
On if they talk

We don’t.
“But we have pictures of you two together. I have pictures of you looking at a house”

Yes, but. No I’m not holding hands.
On if she’ll see Mark again, if she loves him.

No. No.
On Pumpkin’s father

I’ll be honest and tell you… Jessica and Pumpkin have the same dad, but Jessica’s dad has had nothing to do with her over the years. So why the hell would I open up that can of worms until today? It is Michael Anthony Ford. I have not had contact with him since ’99. Since then he was caught on To Catch a Predator. He’s doing time for sexual exploitation of minors until 2026.
“Have you ever been molested or abused?”

No
“When was your first sexual experience?”

12. With somebody I had went to school with. At my parent’s. I had no idea what it was.
On getting pregnant at 14.

I was dating men who were in their 20s, their 30s. My mom knew about it. I would kind of lie and say they were 21, 22. When me and Mark started dating I was 20 he was 38. There was [an] 18 years age difference.
“Do you think your very early sexual experiences made you less sensitive to how a man could harm your daughter?”

No because I think back then I was honestly just looking for the attention I wasn’t getting at home. I don’t think that my sexual experiences at a young age makes it anything different than what Anna went through.
“Do you think you became less sensitive though to your own daughter because you were having sex at age 12?”

You don’t think of somebody you’ve been with for five years would do anything like that honestly.
“But you believe your child over a man and you didn’t”

At first because I knew nothing about the situation up until almost two and a half years ago. I knew nothing. Nothing.
[Transcript from ET, aired 11-13-14]
Listen to how much sympathy this woman has toward her daughter’s molester compared to what she said about her own child. She never once said that she felt terrible, that the situation was horrible, that she wishes she never let that creep around her children or that she regrets handling it the way she did. She said that she thinks “something happened,” but that the poor man has leukemia and a blood disorder and “has got all this stuff on him.”
In part two of the interview, airing tomorrow, ET will air the part where they ask June why she ignored what her daughter was going through. June claims that her mother kept her away from the court proceedings. Yet June didn’t want to see the court papers detailing her daughter’s abuse and she looked incredibly angry and resentful when Brooke asked her if she wanted to see them. This person is truly despicable. That’s all I have to say about her. I really can’t focus on it or I go into a rage.
As for whether June will lose custody of her three minor children for her relationship with a child molester, that’s probably unlikely. Radar Online reports that the CPS investigation is going nowhere, predictably. They claim that “Georgia social workers interviewed all three daughters… and came to the conclusion that no one was physically or emotionally harmed by McDaniel, 53.” The bright side is that the guy may not be long for this earth, and I know that is an awful thing to say but much worse things come to mind. Then again, he could be lying to June about his illnesses so that he can get closer to her kids.
Here are the two segments with June that aired on ET last night.

Myanmar

Chinese

Korean

Japan

Thai