On February 28, police arrested Dralin Carswell on DUI charges following a high-speed police chase.
17-year-old Alana “Honey Boo Boo” Thompson was a passenger in the car. She remained unharmed despite the dangerous technique that police used to bring her 21-year-old boyfriend’s vehicle to a stop.
Now, Alana is loudly and proudly defending Dralin against critics.
Even Lauryn, who is both her sister and her legal guardian, is Team Dralin in the wake of this arrest.
When you take your girlfriend on a high speed police chase that ends in a sudden, scary stop and your arrest, there are a couple of major outcomes. Assuming that everyone makes it out alive, that is.
The first outcome is that she dumps you, possibly before you make bail. And the second outcome is that she rushes to your defense to anyone who will listen.
Alana has chosen door number two. And even as fans bombard him and her with criticism, she’s doubling down.
On TikTok Live, Alana and Lauryn attempted to defend Dralin’s behavior.
“These cops were so f–king crooked!” Alana shouted at her camera.
That’s not difficult to believe. But is she suggesting that they actually framed Dralin for his alleged crimes? Or simply that they had unscrupulous motives for pulling him over in the first place?
What is interesting is that the arrest apparently impacted people who weren’t even there at the time. People like Lauryn’s husband, Josh Efird.
He arrived to pick up Alana, who is only 17 and certainly needed a ride home. (Reportedly, she went home from the jailhouse though no one arrested her)
According to Alana, Josh told the police “F–k you, f–k your badge,” and a “F–k everything, I don’t give a f–k” for good measure.
According to these sisters, police slapped a pair of cuffs onto Josh. However, they did not arrest him.
Lauryn and Alana were not exactly putting forward an ultra-coherent statement to explain things.
One can only assume that Josh was angry because the police chase had endangered Alana’s safety. The technique that they had used to stop the car was particularly hazardous. There may be more to his anger.
We now know a little more about the arrest itself than we did when we first reported on this.
Apparently, a police officer decided to run Dralin’s plates — seemingly at random — and discovered outstanding warrants against the vehicle’s owner.
Officially, we have no idea what criteria police used to run that particular set of plates. Of course, given the entrenched racism in the institution of policing, a number of fans have wondered if Alana suspects that racial profiling was in play. Infamously, mixed-race couples in cars find themselves targets of this practice.
However, others took to the comments of Alana’s TikTok live to give her hell for defending Dralin.
“[Commenter] talking about, ‘I’m sorry, I’m no longer a fan.’ Baby, I don’t care. I don’t care,” Alana declared.
She added: “At the end of the day, I will still have the most watched TV show on WeTV, so I don’t give a f–k.”
While we’re not sure that it was the strongest argument, Alana noted that some of her critics likely support people who are “way worse” than Dralin.
“All this fuss that folks be doing on TikTok and s–t and y’all still be supporting the f–k out of them,” she remarked. “They do way worse s–t than what Dralin did!”
Lauryn chimed in: “I’m trying to tell y’all. Y’all out here supporting people who beat women … And y’all worried about Dralin running from the goddamn police. Be for real!”
“Baby, at the end of the day, I’m still gonna make my money,” Alana taunted after noting that Dralin had not done any methamphetamines. That’s pretty specific.
“Y’all mad because y’all broke and bum asses sitting on y’all’s couch right now worried what the f–k Honey Boo Boo got going on,” she claimed. “When you need to be worried about how to make some money!”
She and Lauryn then continued to make up colorful lifestyle choices for their critics — an ever-growing number of baby daddies, use of methamphetamines, and Waffle House employment. Fascinating PR strategy.
Alana then decided to boast that she has been “famous since she ‘come out the womb.”
She added: “Since I was six. Tell me how old I am now, baby.”
Alana then jabbed: “Y’all won’t never be able to make it like me.” You know what? That’s true.
