Mama June Shannon is making some pretty serious claims about Michael Cardwell.
If you’ve been following, you’ll know that since the unfortunate death of June’s oldest daughter Anna “Chickadee” Cardwell last month, the Mama June: From Not to Hot star has been wrapped up in a contentious custody battle. Anna’s ex-husband Michael has custody of her younger daughter Kylee, 8, of whom he is the biological father. However, he does not have custody of her older daughter Kaitlyn, 11, of whom he’s NOT the biological father.
After Anna passed, June was granted emergency guardianship over the little one, as she claims her daughter and granddaughter had been living with her prior to Anna’s death. It seemed like Kaitlyn would be staying with June indefinitely — until Michael SUED for custody. But in her latest court filings, the 44-year-old is arguing why he shouldn’t get it.
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In court docs obtained by The U.S. Sun, June made some shocking accusations about Michael in response to his petition for custody:
“During his marriage to Anna, plaintiff frequently physically abused Anna and the child and it would not be in the child’s best interest to be in the plaintiff’s care and control.”
Oh s**t…
She didn’t, however, provide any proof as of yet, and Michael’s lawyer responded with a statement to the outlet:
“Michael flatly denies any type of abuse of his children or his ex-wife or any other past girlfriend. We will see how June plans to prove this or any other of her supposed truths or allegations.”
June, who was granted temporary custody earlier this month, also responded to claims in Michael’s petition that after his divorce from Anna in 2017, Kaitlyn would also go when Kylee would visit him. But June claims it was for one specific reason:
“The child of the marriage did not wish to visit the father if Kaitlyn did not come with her. While Kaitlyn did sometimes accompany her sibling, the visits were infrequent.”
And that wasn’t the only claim of Michael’s that June tackled…
She also responded to his point about her having a spotty relationship with Anna throughout the late 29-year-old’s childhood, and that for a large majority, Anna lived with June’s mother. The Here Comes Honey Boo Boo star responded:
“As far as allegations that June and Anna were not close, Anna did reside with the maternal grandmother from ages 11 through 16 or 17. Outside of one short period of disagreement, the defendant and Anna had a stable parent-child relationship.”
However, when it comes to Kaitlyn, she says she’s been a mainstay in her life… unlike Michael:
“Kaitlyn has spent her childhood regularly seeing and spending time with the defendant. On the other hand, the plaintiff has had an inconsistent presence in the child’s life since at least 2017.”
Furthermore, June ALSO provided more context to Michael’s claim that he paid for Kaitlyn’s schooling. She said that it was just for two and a half years, and it was actually in lieu of a child support payment.
Ultimately, the mother of four claimed Anna’s widowed husband Eldridge Toney was the real father figure to Kaitlyn, and asked for Michael’s petition for custody to be denied and dismissed. She also claimed earlier this month that prior to Anna’s death, she designated that she wanted Kaitlyn to live with her… And that the proof will be on the show.
This battle just keeps heating up…
We’ll have to see what the court says — and how Michael responds.
Thoughts? Let us know in the comments down below.
If you have sincere cause to suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, help is available. Consider calling the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233, or text START to 88788, or go to https://www.thehotline.org/.
[Images via Anna & Michael Cardwell/Instagram, & Entertainment Tonight/YouTube]
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