June "Mama June" Shannon, the 35-year-old former Here Comes Honey Boo Boo star, has finally opened up about allegations she's been dating a convicted sex offender who had once molested her daughter Anna "Chickadee" Cardwell.
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TLC canceled Shannon's reality TV show in late October after "compelling evidence" surfaced she was involved with Mark McDaniel, a registered sex offender who spent 10 years in prison, and people feared her young girls might be in danger.
However, Shannon insisted she's only seen McDaniel twice since his release from jail -- with the first time being a coincidental run-in and the second allegedly being an arranged gathering so Shannon's 14-year-old daughter Pumpkin could get some closure from the man she had believed was her biological father.
"Since two months to almost six years, she knew nobody but him. She was starting to resent Anna and she was starting to ask me questions. I can't answer those questions for Pumpkin," Shannon explained to ET, elaborating more on that planned meeting.
"I was sitting right there with twelve other people. It was a conversation that she wanted her answers: what happened, why did he leave, you know, if he was her real father. He admitted to her, no. I had already told her that but, you know, she wanted to hear from both sides of the story."
Pumpkin's biological father is reportedly Michael Anthony Ford, another convicted sex offender who served time in jail for sexual exploitation after getting caught on To Catch a Predator in 2005, who is also the father of Shannon's 18-year-old daughter Jessica.
"Jessica and Pumpkin have the same dad, but Jessica's dad has had nothing to do with her over the years," Shannon said. "So, why the hell would I open up that can of worms until today? I lied to my family and told them it was somebody else."
When asked whether she understands why there was so much backlash in regards to reports she had been dating McDaniel, Shannon explained, "I understand that... and honestly it's not like I'm seeing him everyday, I promise... I wanted to be able to give one of my other daughters closure and now Pumpkin is happy, that piece of our life is over."
Shannon also told ET she doesn't feel her daughter Alana "Honey Boo Boo" Thompson is in harm's way, as she's allegedly had minimal contact with McDaniel.
"He never really talked to her," Shannon claimed.
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
