Honey Boo Boo: Hollywood's Newest Child Star Victim

If you find yourself asking, "What's a Honey Boo Boo?" you must of pulled a Sleeping Beauty on the world of media entertainment. If only we could all be so lucky. My suggestion is to set that alarm for another 15 years to see if Hollywood's newest child star train wrecks her life into a downward spiral. The last sentence seems rather harsh to say about an obnoxious redneck 6-year-old beauty queen. But, when it comes to Hollywood child stars, there seems to be a reoccurring pattern.

According to AMNY's Dr. Stanley Goldstein, "In order to be successful adults, kids must learn how to deal with uncomfortable feelings, criticism, temptation, and other challenges and have strongly developed identity. Laboring under constant direction on studio sets and being cooed over when off work often leaves youngsters unprepared when the spotlight dims." If you think about it, it really does make sense. The entertainment business is a highly stressful job. To put that kind of stress on children when all they have is their innocence is hard to cope with. Since the coping process is a rather long and tedious approach, finding alternative ways though drugs and partying seems like an easy get away.

So how does this tie-in with Honey Boo Boo? Hollywood is always trying to find the "next big thing" and they found her. Staring in TLC's Toddlers and Tiaras, Alana Thompson made her first appearance as an outspoken 6-year-old beauty queen. When people started raving over her attitude through social media, Hollywood took that as the green light to her own show. Since Hollywood has found their  "next big thing," we can't help but wonder how she will turn out in about 15 years. We could only predict her future by comparing her to other young child stars before her. Smashing Lists has created a list of ten famous child stars gone wrong. The one that first comes to my mind is Lindsay Lohan. Lindsay started out landing a leading role with Disney in The Parent Trap. At the tender age of 11, Lohan was pushed into the entertainment business. Growing up in the limelight, Lindsay ended up with an alcohol and cocaine addiction. This resulted in her attending rehab; three different times. 

Another example of a child star gone wrong is Britney Spears. Britney made her appearance on The Mickey Mouse Club in 1989. Then she went onto her singing career making "Baby One More Time," a huge hit in the 90s. Her fame resulted in her having her infamous public breakdown, and shaving her head. These two infamous examples of child stars in Hollywood are forever engraved in our minds. Regardless of some child stars gone bad, there are many successful stars that haven't let Hollywood get to them. 

Does that give us some hope that Honey Boo Boo will be successful, (however, you define successful in her case) or will she crash and burn into the ashes of other failed child stars? Some social media has already determined the fate of Honey Boo Boo. Even though this is clearly a parody, do you think it is an accurate prediction for America's newest Hollywood victim? As the Tootsie Pop commercial says, "The world may never know." The best thing to do is play the waiting game; and take bets in the meantime.

~ Karrah Barber, Katherine Barnes, Kyla DeFazio, Cara DiPiazza, Sarah Refait

Photo Credit: Perez Hilton

Posted in: Celebrities, Media