Mama June and Her Sister-in-Law Have Beef — Here's Why

Over the last few years, June Shanon, aka Mama June, has made more than a few enemies. Along with Mike "Sugar Bear" Thompson’s wife, Jennifer Thompson, June and her boyfriend, Geno Doak, have also burned bridges with her recently pregnant daughter, Lauryn "Pumpkin" Shannon, and her youngest child, Alana Thompson (formerly known as Honey Boo Boo).

In this season of Mama June: Road to Redemption, even June’s relentlessly supportive sister Doe Doe has been outspoken about Mama June’s outrageous behavior. But one of the latest family members to call June out was Janice Shannon. But who is Janice, and how is she related to June Shannon and her daughters? 

Along with her sister Joanne Shannon (affectionately known as Doe Doe), Mama June has two other siblings — her sister Joanie Shannon and her late brother, James Shannon. While James’s cause of death is unclear, he is survived by his wife of 25 years, June’s sister-in-law, Janice Shannon.

Although we don’t hear much about James or Joanie on Mama June: Road to Redemption, Janice has appeared on previous episodes of the show and revealed that her relationship with her sister-in-law is strained, to say the least.

According to Hollywood Life, Janice told The National Inquirer that she had agreed to adopt June’s eldest daughter years ago. Janice said after June gave birth to Anna Shannon, who is known by fans as “Chickadee,” at 15 years old, she and her husband agreed to adopt her, but the paperwork was never finalized.

In the past, Janice has not held back her criticisms about June’s parenting and has publicly condemned the reality star on a number of occasions. The Blast reported that when June was in the midst of her drug addiction, she attempted to sell pair of old Nikes on Facebook for $70, and it caught the attention of several of June’s family members.

Janice reportedly commented, “June your brother would be so disappointed in you PLEASE CALL ME OR GET YOURSELF SOME HELP.” But the feud between the in-laws didn’t end there. In recent episodes of Mama June, it seemed that Janice made friends with an unlikely ally.

In a conversation with Sugar Bear’s wife, Janice expressed her distaste for June. When Jennifer shared that she was experiencing marital issues with her husband, Janice replied, “The problem is June. You know, I’m so glad you’re in Mike’s life and y’all are happy. But there’s a kid involved. And you’re going to have to deal with June forever.”

During their conversation, Janice all but insisted that Jennifer push Sugar Bear to get a DNA test to determine the paternity of their daughter, Alana. She shared, “Four kids, four dads. Makes you wonder. Mike may not be Alana’s daddy.”

Later, Janice also insisted that Jennifer and Sugar Bear get full custody of Alana.

Mama June previously responded to Janice’s comments in a tweet that read, “And what's crazy is Janice is my sister-in-law of my deceased brother and up until my brother died we was [sic] a pretty close-knit family but now all that she worries about is drama just like them and my mom that's why I don't associate."

Catch Janice, Jennifer, and June's family feud on Mama June: Road to Redemption Fridays at 9 p.m. EST on WE tv.