Honey Boo Boo Proves Exploiting Your Children For Money Works!

I’m sure there was a part of my brain that realized that the immense popularity of the show “Here Comes Honey Boo Boo” was probably making her family very rich. I just tucked that knowledge deep into the corners of my mind. I guess I can’t really face a world that wants to see a little girl pumped full of Mountain Dew and paraded around a stage looking like a Tammy Faye mini-me.

For its latest issue, Parade included a story called “Celebrity Salaries Revealed.”  Because I am a glutton for punishment, I read it. Some of the news was more soul-crushing than others. I can’t believe how much it pays to be famous. Guy Fieri – who I’m pretty sure is going to have a heart attack on live TV one day while ingesting a handfull of chili fries – gets $100,000 per personal appearance. (This is a side note – but if you enjoy laughing until you think you may actually vomit – go here.) Paula Deen – who has made a career out of basically teaching people how to give themselves Diabetes – has a $6 million dollar deal with diabetes drugmaker Novo Nordisk.

There were some obvious big-earners on the list. We all know Brad Pitt makes a zillion dollars every time he does a movie. Well, it’s actually not a zillion – but with an estimated salary of $35.5 million – its pretty close. He made $7 million for those ridiculous Chanel Ads!

But I think the most surprising salary of all, is the one that Honey Boo Boo’s family pulls in per episode. How much do you think it is? I’ll give you a clue – it’s about a year’s worth of blood, sweat and tears for the average, middle income sucker. Yes, Honey Boo Boo and family get $50,000 an episode. Oh my god. No wonder so many parents have YouTube accounts – trying to show the world they have the next, big thing.

I have to admit, I’ve only seen the show a couple times. It actually looks like a pretty loving family. Honey Boo Boo genuinely seems to enjoy being on stage and living the life of a pageant kid. I’m just weary of what the repercussions of living a life on live TV are going to do to some of these kids. We’ve already seen how damaging it can be to be a child star. I can’t imagine how hard it may be to be a reality star – and see your whole childhood played out on camera.

Time will tell. But with a pay-off like this – I’m pretty sure there will be plenty more families trying to breed the “next big thing.”

(photo: Twitter)