>>>
back at 8:09 with the fascination with
honey
boo boo
. if you don't know she's one of the young stars of
tlc
's toddlers and tiara's. now the family has their own show. like it or not it has a lot of
people watching
and talking. here is
janet shamlian
.
>> reporter:
it's the newest guilty pleasure among
reality show
fans. the new
tlc
series. here comes
honey
boo boo
.
>>
i am
honey
boo boo
.
>>
a spinoff from toddlers and tiara's, it follows little pageant girl elana, nicknamed
honey
boo boo
and her family.
>>
here is my craziest. punk in is the craziest. my favorite, bff. the boss of the family is mama.
>>
my name is mike, i'm nicknamed
sugar bear
.
>>
we're rednecks.
>>
honey
boo boo
has taken cable by storm with millions of viewers.
>>
like her, don't like her, we don't care. we love our life and have fun doing it.
>>
i think a lot of people are watching the show to laugh at these people. yes, these shoes are designed in many ways for us to feel superior as we make fun of the people on them. but i'm not sure these people should be disallowed from doing it.
>>
others have called out the parenting of elana's mom june who admitted giving her 6-year-old
energy drinks
to rev her up.
>>
she drinks before a pageant to give her the extra upph. whatever works, i don't it.
>>
is it fun.
>>
it's a funny show.
>> reporter:
there's no dispute it revels in snark, from the grocery store.
>>
to the stacks of
toilet paper
back home.
>>
the reason why i have as much
toilet paper
, because it's fr. hello.
>> reporter:
in a statement to
tlc
they defend the family. they don't care what people think about them. because at the
end of the day
they are having a good time and know exactly who they are. not everyone is going to appreciate that, but an awful lot of people are enjoying them. despite the wackiness of it all maybe
honey
boo boo
and her family are getting the last laugh.
>>
by the time you've completed an entire episode, it seems to be a
happy family
that kind of has a lot of fun.
>>
yes, we are rednecks.
>>
no, we are not redneck prfs yes, we are.
>>
we all have our teeth don't we.
>> reporter:
for today
janet shamlian
, nbc news, houston.
>>
lisa is a senior columnist from "
huffington post
" and
ada
from the "
los angeles times
." good morning to both of you.
>>
good morning.
>>
you represent two different views on
honey
boo boo
. i'll ask both of you the same question, start wug,
ada
, what is the appeal of the show.
>>
a lot of people relate to them. they are a poor family but having a great time. a lot of people are making fun of them and saying june is not the best mother in the world and enjoying feeling superior, which i don't think is so healthy.
>>
is that what you feel?
>>
what she said. they are fun to watch. she's adorable. on the other hand there's also the feeling of oh, god, when you're watching. it's a bit of a train wreck. i don't think people are watching them as role models. people are watching them to laugh.
>>
do you think there's an element of exploitation that the joke is on them and they are not in on it?
>>
i don't think it's going to end well for this
little girl
. that's why i can't watch it. it's upsetting to watch and think she didn't sign on for this. she doesn't know what the future is with this being her reputation through life. yeah, i think it's exploitive.
>>
ada
, you actually have talked to mama june, the mother in this show. what was your impression.
>>
i thought she was a really loving mother. she said she wants her children to be who they are. elan aa is a maniac, a very charming, very outgoing girl. she wanted to support her and let her be herself and be social.
>>
she's a
little girl
. you can let her be herself. now it's on television, will
live forever
. do you have the same concern as lisa has, she might not be happy to look back and see she was on tv this way.
>>
i wasn't worried after talking to her. it seeps like they are grounded, they love each other very much.
>>
i can see one of those articles in 25 years in "people" magazine, looking back, whatever happened to, i just don't think -- i hop i'm wrong. she's charming. i don't think it's going to end well.
>>
as you mentioned, it's not your
cup of tea
. do you see something morally wrong here, bad parenting?
>>
i would like to see less bad parenting on television as entertainment. with more and more
reality shows
, there's more and more bad parenting. it shouldn't be fun to watch. i'm not quite sure how we got here?
>>
what do you say,
ada
, last word on this. are they laughing all the way to the bank. i assume they are
making money
here.
>>
they are. i don't think she's a bad parent. she loves her kids.
>>
good to get two perspectives. a reminder, you can catch
honey
boo boo
right here
“ ”