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Honey Boo Boo Has A New Enemy

Alana Thompson, or “Honey Boo Boo” to her family and the public at large, is a bit bratty, preternaturally adorable, and has struck it rich before the age of ten. There are plenty of reasons to love her or hate her, but is she really representative of the “decay of Western civilization”? She certainly is according to the antidote to the decay of Western civilization, Adam Levine, who went from being the soft rock frontman of Maroon 5 to pop rock snob with his turn as a judge on the talent show The Voice. He had some harsh words for the reality star in an interview with GQ, but was he being fair?

Here’s what he had to say:

“Just because so many people watch the show doesn’t mean it’s good. So many people witness atrocities and can’t take their eyes away from them, but that doesn’t mean they’re good. That show is literally The. Worst. Thing. That’s. Ever. Happened.”

Wow! Her outlandish personality made her household name, and a bankable darling of reality television, and while many have taken a liking to Honey and TLC’s depiction of her and family she has received plenty of criticism as another product of our culture’s obsession with fame at any price. Levine is known for being super opinionated, especially on Twitter, but maybe Mr. Sunday Morning should leave ol’ Boo Boo alone. It could be argued that Western civilization was already been brimming the edges of decomposition with the rise of The Kardashians, the canon from which Honey Boo Boo’s celebrity was born and a phenomenon set in motion long before she was born. After all, she’s just a kid!

Honey Boo Boo is too much of an easy scapegoat for reality TV culture’s increasingly questionable influence on the mainstream. And it’s not as though Levine is exempt — after all, has The Voice made much of a contribution to our culture? Even offered us a mega-talented superstar along the lines of American Idol?

[Photo via GQ]

TAGS: adam levine | Here Comes Honey Boo Boo

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