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Dr. Drew
Honey Boo Boo & Mama June; Tan Mom Backlash
Aired October 23, 2012 - 21:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. DREW PINSKY, HOST (voice-over): Honey Boo Boo is in the hissy. America`s most watched 7-year-old and Mama June are here with me. (INAUDIBLE) we will hear it all.
ALANA THOMPSON, HONEY BOO BOO: Like totally OMG.
PINSKY: You never know what will come out of the mouths of Honey Boo Boo and Mama June.
And last week, tan mom shocked us with her look and some new confessions.
What happened?
PATRICIA KRENTCIL, TAN MOM: People have hurt and abused me. Somebody hit me when they were on steroids and I almost died.
PINSKY: But now her friend Dana Ramos says she is the one who`s been taking the heat since our show.
DANA RAMOS, AUTHOR: Let`s get it straight. It was a business idea. I`ve been working with her now for three months and people have -- she`s been bullied.
PINSKY: Dana`s here. She`s got a lot to say and wants to take your calls.
Let`s get started.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PINSKY: Please welcome 7-year-old Alana Thompson, Honey Boo Boo child, and Mama June Shannon.
Hi, June. Welcome.
JUNE SHANNON: Hi.
PINSKY: What are you looking at, Honey Boo Boo?
SHANNON: She`s looking at the monitor.
PINSKY: She seems to like herself on TV, doesn`t she?
THOMPSON: I`m still everywhere.
PINSKY: You`re what?
SHANNON: You see yourself everywhere?
THOMPSON: I`m still everywhere.
PINSKY: What do people not know about you, Alana? They see you on your show. What do they not know?
SHANNON: She`s actually a normal child.
PINSKY: We`re watching her now doing some of the toddler and tiaras stuff. There, you`re doing it.
SHANNON: Yes, that`s through our show.
PINSKY: Yes.
SHANNON: That`s our Elvis routine. That`s our new coach. And she loves her.
THOMPSON: My feet look good.
PINSKY: Your feet do look good. I heard your mom has got some feet problems. I heard that on the show.
SHANNON: Who is that?
PINSKY: There you go. Can you do the -- can she do the routine for me?
SHANNON: Some she knows a little bit if she had the music.
PINSKY: Do you want to do some routine for me? Do you want to do cart wheels for me?
THOMPSON: I know how to do it.
PINSKY: How about walking in your hands, can you do that?
THOMPSON: I can`t do that.
PINSKY: Really? I saw you trying to walk on your hands. I saw your dad holding your feet up.
SHANNON: That`s probably Lee. That`s her uncle.
PINSKY: Uncle Poodle?
THOMPSON: (INAUDIBLE)
PINSKY: And -- now how did poodle get that name?
SHANNON: Actually, we had another coach that we was doing and she called -- you know, she was -- we were talking about gay people. And she said I love gay men. And they`re all my poodles. So like Alana picked up on that.
PINSKY: She called him Uncle Poodle?
SHANNON: Yes.
PINSKY: Does she understand what gay and straight means?
SHANNON: Yes. What did we say about when other people talk? Yes. That`s actually --
THOMPSON: What do we (INAUDIBLE).
SHANNON: What you mean what we going to do?
PINSKY: What you want to do? You want to eat some more nuggets?
THOMPSON: No.
PINSKY: You want to listen to a stethoscope? She can do that. You ever listen to your heart? You have listened to your heart? Your doctor has one.
SHANNON: The nurse at school.
PINSKY: I`ll let you do it. Put that on. That`s my stethoscope. I will put it on my heart so you can hear it.
Do you hear that?
THOMPSON: Yes.
PINSKY: Yes. What`s it sound like.
THOMPSON: Like boom boom boom.
PINSKY: I heard you want to be a nurse.
SHANNON: Yes.
PINSKY: One of the things you want to be, right?
SHANNON: She has several things that she wants to be when she grows up.
THOMPSON: Breathe in.
SHANNON: I mean several things she wants to do when she grows up. I told all my girls whatever you want to be when you grow up is, you know --
PINSKY: She wants to be a nurse and teacher.
SHANNON: A nurse, a teacher, a mama, she wants to eat at McDonald`s so she can eat all the McNuggets. I`m like, so whatever my kids want to be, I mean, I support them.
PINSKY: Let`s go back to Uncle Poodle. Uncle Poodle is gay right?
SHANNON: Yes. People think he`s the made up character in the show. But it is honestly Sugar Bear`s younger brother.
PINSKY: Sugar Bear is your husband, her father?
SHANNON: Yes.
PINSKY: Do you guys celebrate the whole redneck sort of thing. Does accepting and embracing a gay brother go along with that?
SHANNON: Yes. I have tons of gay friends. And so, you know, we -- through our ability we have brought light to the gay community. A couple of our shirts in the UR brand support, you know, gay people.
Alana has one that says I love my poodles. Another shirt that went very viral during the -- what did I say when other people are talking? When we`re talking, door nut. You`ve got to be quiet.
PINSKY: What`s a door nut?
THOMPSON: Door nut.
PINSKY: What`s a door nut?
SHANNON: What she said on the show was it was a doughnut and they misunderstood it to where it said door nut. She was like what`s a door nut, Alana? So --
PINSKY: So let`s go back to -- there are things people don`t know about you. Which is you`re very community minded. You do your couponing to serve other people and get people supplies they may not have.
SHANNON: Yes.
PINSKY: Your husband is a volunteer fireman?
SHANNON: Yes. We also now teamed up with UR brand as of yesterday we raised, thanks to our fans, we raised $3,228. And that`s through shirt sales, through a meet and greets and stuff.
PINSKY: What is that money for?
SHANNON: That`s for the anti-bullying association. So people who are being bullied, like she gives away scholarships every year. Normally she only raises $500 a year. With our help, she has raised quadruple that.
PINSKY: I would imagine that this newfound fame you are stuck in the middle of, you have to withstand a bunch of bullying. I saw the "South Park" episode. That was sort of a bullying --
SHANNON: That "South Park" episode --
PINSKY: Let`s talk about bullying. Is she the object of bullying now? Are you an object of bullying?
SHANNON: No.
PINSKY: You don`t see stuff on Twitter or online disturbing?
SHANNON: There have only been a few incidents. We took care of that very well. Our security team has took care of the couple issues that has arise.
PINSKY: Does she get bullied at school?
SHANNON: No.
PINSKY: Do people treat her differently?
SHANNON: No. Back in January when we were on toddler and tiaras. The school knew she was famous from that. When the show came out, she still goes to public school. She`s still -- the teachers are very supportive and everything.
PINSKY: What is it like at school now since you`ve been on TV?
THOMPSON: It`s good. People treat me different.
PINSKY: Who treats you different?
THOMPSON: Like my friends. Like, my -- my principal. When she be going to meetings, she`d be like Honey Boo Boo.
PINSKY: She calls you -- the principal at your school calls you Honey Boo Boo?
SHANNON: No, they call her Alana.
THOMPSON: Yes, they do.
SHANNON: HBBC.
PINSKY: They call her Honey Boo Boo at school now? Has it affected her social situation?
SHANNON: No. If anything, whenever she walks through the halls people are amazed she`s still at public school. What do we say?
(INAUDIBLE)
PINSKY: I like it.
SHANNON: But you know, so we go and, you know, she goes to public schools. Other girls go to public schools. She does normal kid stuff. I mean, she has birthday parties. Like a 7-year-old would.
PINSKY: But all this has got to affect her. It`s got to kind of close in on her at some point.
SHANNON: No. I mean, honestly, if she says I`m tired, then she`s tired.
PINSKY: And she`s got a bodyguard now.
SHANNON: Yes. They call them resource officers at school in our local community.
PINSKY: I got to take a break. We`ll also take phone calls for you. Do you know what to call that? A stethoscope. Can you say that? Stethoscope? Sketti scope?
THOMPSON: Sketti scope.
PINSKY: There we go.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
THOMPSON: And there`s no way we can`t win, because I got me a pig.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PINSKY: Next, more with Honey Boo Boo and Mama June with family life on and off camera.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
THOMPSON: I`m a door nut.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PINSKY: And later, backlash after tan mom`s appearance on this show.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAMOS: Let`s get it straight. It was a business idea. I`ve been working with her now for three months. And people -- she`s been bullied.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PINSKY: Her friend Dana Ramos now says she is the one who`s being attacked. Be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(INAUDIBLE)
THOMPSON: Yes you do it like daisy duke like this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PINSKY: I am back with Alana Thompson aka --
THOMPSON: Honey Boo Boo.
PINSKY: Honey Boo Boo. Or hbbc. And her mom June Shannon.
June, again, I -- people get very critical of Honey Boo Boo, don`t they?
SHANNON: Some do. But for the most part people love her.
PINSKY: Let`s talk about that. That`s a pretty good picture. This is the one I like. We are conjoined twins. Very nice.
THOMPSON: It says twin.
PINSKY: It says twin, you`re right.
What do we do with people that say it`s exploiting young girls, encouraging her to be perhaps hyper active?
SHANNON: Alana is a very hyperactive child.
PINSKY: Has she been diagnosed with that or assessed for that?
SHANNON: No.
PINSKY: Have you thought about assessing her?
SHANNON: No, because a normal 7-year-olds is hyper from time to time. It`s not overboard to where I can`t like control.
PINSKY: The teachers never said she may have ADD.
SHANNON: No, because at school she`s a very quiet child. She knows when to act crazy and goofy.
PINSKY: Does she do well academically?
SHANNON: Yes. She does very well academically. And like I said, we have fun with what we`re doing.
PINSKY: You and she?
SHANNON: The whole family. We have fun at what we do, especially filming the show. Who doesn`t fart? Who doesn`t burp? Who doesn`t make memories with their families?
THOMPSON: I don`t burp.
PINSKY: You don`t burp?
THOMPSON: I don`t.
PINSKY: You`re trying to burp but you can`t?
SHANNON: No she says she don`t. But listen. We -- because when Alana and the kids say, you know, no, then we don`t. I mean, we take tons of breaks.
PINSKY: Let`s go to Heather in Iowa. Honey Boo Boo, I think she has a question for you. Heather?
HEATHER, CALLER FROM IOWA: Hey, June and Honey Boo Boo. I love your show. You are hilarious.
SHANNON: Thank you.
HEATHER: But my question is and I`m praying you`ll tell me the answer I want to hear. Please tell me you have representation the entertainment industry because it can be an ugly dog eat dog world. Please tell me somebody is looking out for your best interest.
SHANNON: We choose to not have a manager or agent.
PINSKY: You`re it.
SHANNON: Yes. I am the manager because I know we`re busy by ourself. So if we had a manager, we would be on the road 24 hours a day. I have other kids besides Alana.
PINSKY: This is a bigger question. How do you incorporate this experience into your family life? I mean, what does this mean to this family?
I mean, here`s what bothers me. You guys have become literally in the case of "South Park" and people`s minds a cartoon character. And you guys are just a family trying to get by and have a life. How do you incorporate all that?
SHANNON: I look at it this way. This experience will help the future of Alana, because a lot of the money is put in trust funds.
PINSKY: For college?
SHANNON: Yes. And is equal for all the girls.
PINSKY: So she`s earning money for the other kids?
SHANNON: Well, yes. The whole -- but now the show is about the whole family. Not just about me. Not just about Alana. It`s about the whole family as a whole.
So I made that choice, because in Georgia there`s not laws out there that I have to put back money. But I chose to as a parent because this isn`t going to last for 20, 30 years. Period. Nothing lasts forever.
PINSKY: How long is it going to last?
SHANNON: I don`t know.
PINSKY: How long you want it to last?
SHANNON: If it lasts for the next six months, that`s great.
PINSKY: What if it goes five years?
SHANNON: If it goes five years, then hey, we`ll have fun with it and enjoy this.
PINSKY: Think about it. Could it hurt your -- I think every reality family I`ve seen like Jon and Kate, their relationships start to fall apart. Are you worried about that?
SHANNON: You have to stay grounded in what you`re doing.
PINSKY: You and Sugar Bear good?
SHANNON: He works like seven days a week.
PINSKY: What`s he do?
SHANNON: He worked for the (INAUDIBLE) industry. You`ve got to stay grounded. I made the smart choice when we first started this not to be a scripted family. Not to be, you know - when TLC came to me I was like look. I`m not going to lie and they know that.
But when after about a month of walking me through it I said the only way I can do this is if we can be real. If you hang out with me for a day, you`re probably going to get on a four wheeler and go mud bogging. You`re probably going to end up like act crazy in the front yard if the weather is nice. There ain`t no telling who`s going to jump on who, dog piling it in the living room.
PINSKY: Which is nice. But this is the center of the show. It is. She is.
SHANNON: Yes. It`s all because Alana. It started off with her on toddler and tiaras, yes.
PINSKY: And it`s this personality. Look at that. That`s crazy.
THOMPSON: My hair. It`s black.
SHANNON: And I made the smart choice to not have her the most percentage, to have it equally divided within the four kids and the grand baby.
PINSKY: I`ve got to take a break. I want to talk about your four kids and the grand baby more coming up, because you were actually a teen mom. I think people don`t realize that. I want to talk to you about what that experience has been like and really what`s ahead for Honey Boo Boo child, maybe after all this.
SHANNON: OK.
PINSKY: What do you think, honey?
THOMPSON: What?
PINSKY: You having a good time? This is what she`s doing.
SHANNON: She`s like a demon child.
PINSKY: Back after this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
THOMPSON: Chicken nuggets in my stomach. I just wanted to eat.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Where is the chicken nuggets?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don`t know.
THOMPSON: I think I see one right there in the middle. I can`t wait until she squeezes her out because she`s going to be my best friend.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PINSKY: Next, Mama June on her daughter becoming a mother.
And still to come, outrage after tan mom and her friend Dana Ramos appeared on our show. You won`t believe who is under attack.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
THOMPSON: I can`t do that!
SHANNON: Yes you can. Keep practicing.
THOMPSON: It`s hard!
SHANNON: I`m in boots and can do it. Come on. We got to get this done. We have two days.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
THOMPSON: Five, four, three, two, one, go.
PINSKY: I`m back with Honey Boo Boo child and her mom June.
And I want to go straight out to calls. See what we got from Veronica.
Veronica, you have a question for us?
VERONICA, CALLER FROM CALIFORNIA: Yes I do. Hi, Dr. Drew.
PINSKY: Veronica.
VERONICA: My question is for the mother. I had no idea who Honey Boo Boo was until last night I was watching Wendy Williams and a host on there said something very negative about Honey Boo Boo and the mother.
So my question is why would you subject your daughter to that scrutiny when we have the women of the media today who are so negative and contribute to the Lindsay Lohans and things of today with all that pressure?
PINSKY: OK, that`s a viable question. Are you worried she`d be another child star statistic?
SHANNON: I don`t think she would be. Because later on down the road she will look at what`s on the Internet. I know that.
PINSKY: What if she`s mad at you for all this?
SHANNON: You know --
PINSKY: Fifteen-year-old rebellious teenager going, I can`t believe you put me through that.
SHANNON: I honestly don`t think so, because we are -- if you watch the show, we are very loving family. Don`t get me wrong. None of us don`t get along 100 percent of the time, what family does --
PINSKY: The other three girls are what age?
SHANNON: Anna (ph) is 18. She`s graduating this year. Jessica turned 16 last Friday. She`s a senior. And you`ve got Pumpkin which is 12.
PINSKY: I met Jessica and Pumpkin.
SHANNON: Yes.
PINSKY: They`re half sisters, right?
SHANNON: They are her sisters.
PINSKY: Your oldest child, you were a teen mom when you had that child, right?
SHANNON: Yes.
PINSKY: Do you have anything to advocate?
SHANNON: I mean, it`s hard. By the time I was 17 I had two kids, Anna and Jessica. It`s hard. I had a full-time job. I lived -- you know, I worked all the time.
PINSKY: Am I seeing you get emotional thinking about that time?
SHANNON: You know, no. It`s not really emotional. It`s really hard as a teen mom.
PINSKY: But how painful that was.
SHANNON: It wasn`t painful. I mean, you just do it. Life throws some crazy things at you.
PINSKY: Was your mom a teen mom?
SHANNON: No.
PINSKY: Were you afraid these girls would be teen moms?
SHANNON: You know, I was disappointed when Anna came to me and said she was pregnant when she was 17. I was because she was still in school. But now I am proud of Anna that she decided to -- she`s going to graduate this year. That`s a big thing.
And you may see some of the talk on our show that you can still go to school and do what you want to do even though you have --
PINSKY: When you have support of a family.
SHANNON: Yes. You`ve got to have the support of a family.
PINSKY: What about the childhood obesity accusations?
SHANNON: The childhood obesity, you know, I`m not saying that Alana`s not a little chunky herself. But, you know, I love Alana. And I love all my kids. And not everybody fits a size zero.
PINSKY: I understand. How do we address that? You`ve got a weight issue, yes?
SHANNON: Yes, but I`ve lost a lot of weight in the last --
PINSKY: You do look smaller, good for you.
More of Honey Boo Boo in the spotlight next.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hurry up, Alana, pick it up, we haven`t got time.
SHANNON: You`ve got to hurry now.
THOMPSON: I was just walking.
SHANNON: I`m very, like, anal when it comes to pageant day, because if you`re late, it`s over with.
THOMPSON: Mama, look, I`m making up a song in my head and dancing to it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PINSKY: And later, backlash after tan mom`s appearance on this show.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAMOS: Let`s get it straight. It was a business idea. I`ve been working with her now for three months. And people -- she`s been bullied.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PINSKY: Her friend Dana Ramos says she`s now the one attacked. Be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PINSKY: Back with Honey Boo Boo child and Mama June.
Honey Boo Boo, you all right?
SHANNON: Stretching.
PINSKY: Let me ask you some questions, honey.
I know. Always wants to talk to you. Is it -- is it difficult to be on TV? Is she sleeping? Is there something exciting you`d like to talk about?
SHANNON: Alana, come on get this done so we can go.
PINSKY: Hi.
SHANNON: Don`t hit.
PINSKY: It`s all right. She`s not hitting me.
SHANNON: You like being on TV?
THOMPSON: No.
PINSKY: You don`t like it? Tell me. How come?
THOMPSON: Fans come up to me and I hate it.
SHANNON: Yes, right.
PINSKY: You hate it?
THOMPSON: I do.
SHANNON: When you see the cameras come on, she`s like drama city. You know, stuff like that.
THOMPSON: I want to go now.
PINSKY: OK. It`s going to happen soon. Let me finish up with a few things. What do you want people to know about you that people don`t know?
THOMPSON: That`s a hard question.
PINSKY: Really? Do you have a best friend?
THOMPSON: Five minutes.
PINSKY: Do you have best friend?
THOMPSON: Five minutes.
PINSKY: I see it. The cards. He`s holding up the cards saying five minutes. Thank you. Do you have best friend?
SHANNON: Do you have a best friend?
PINSKY: What`s her name?
THOMPSON: I have two of them.
PINSKY: Really? What are their names?
THOMPSON: Jayelin and Dianna.
PINSKY: Do you wish they could be here with you? What kind of stuff do you like to do with them?
THOMPSON: I like to play with them.
(SINGING)
PINSKY: Is she going to sing the national anthem at one of baseball - - World Series event?
SHANNON: There was one --
(SINGING)
SHANNON: Shhh.
THOMPSON: I want to play a game.
PINSKY: What do you want to play? Rock, paper, scissors?
THOMPSON: Sure.
PINSKY: OK, ready?
THOMPSON: You`re doing it wrong.
PINSKY: Rock, paper, scissors. Rock, paper, scissors. Rock, paper, scissors.
(CROSSTALK)
SHANNON: I thought you didn`t like being on TV, so why are you playing on TV?
PINSKY: Monica in Kentucky.
MONICA, KENTUCKY: Hi, Dr. Drew.
PINSKY: Hi, Monica.
MONICA: Hi, Alana and June.
SHANNON: Hi, how are you?
MONICA: I just want to let you guys know I`m a huge fan of your show.
SHANNON: Thank you.
MONICA: You`re super hilarious. I think it`s pretty neat that you`re the first pageant kid ever that I`ve known that had their own reality show. That`s become a huge success. I think you`re doing a great job with that.
Just want to let you guys know as a pageant mom that highly involved in pageants with my daughter Alexis, I think you guys have opened the doors up or are opening the doors up for other pageant kids in the industry. I want to say that keep doing what you`re doing and stay with it. Keep your head high. And we`d love to see you guys in Western Kentucky some time.
PINSKY: All right. What do you say to that?
SHANNON: Yes, I mean, yes. If we`re in Kentucky, hey. Whoever knows where the possibilities might lead us? But I thought you didn`t like being on TV and look at you now? Hey, Alana, do you like being on TV? Alana.
PINSKY: We`re obsessing. Do you like to be on TV?
THOMPSON: You didn`t win yet.
PINSKY: I did win. I`m winning right now.
(CROSSTALK)
PINSKY: The show is breaking down right in front of my eyes. All right. We`ve got to take a break. I want to thank Honey Boo Boo child, Alana. Thank you for joining me. I appreciate it.
SHANNON: Thank you.
THOMPSON: Thank you.
PINSKY: We`ll be back after this break.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PINSKY (voice-over): And still to come, outrage after tan mom and her friend, Dana Ramos, appeared on our show. You won`t believe who is under attack.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PINSKY: Last week tan mom shocked us with her new look and some new confessions.
What happened?
PATRICIA KRENTCIL, "TAN MOM": People have hurt and abused me. Somebody hit me when they were on steroids and I almost died.
PINSKY: But now, her friend, Dana Ramos, says she is the one who`s been taking the heat since our show.
DANA RAMOS, TAN MOM`S FRIEND, SPOKESPERSON: Let`s get it straight. It was a business idea. I`ve been working with her now for three months and people have -- she`s been bullied.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PINSKY (on-camera): Patricia Krentcil also known as tan mom, her friend, Dana Ramos, is joining me now. She`s the author of "The Skin Regime." And Dana, you actually contacted us after the last show saying that you`re being attacked and you were being accused of exploiting tan mom. People were calling you a monster and you wanted to set the record straight.
RAMOS: Yes. First of all, most of the wonderful viewers that do have watching, they were very supportive. They get it. They -- you know, Patricia, obviously, is doing much better. She looks better. She`s on the road to wellness. But you have like everybody has on all the shows. There`s a segment of the population that anonymously bully other people.
They just write the most venomous things anonymously because they`re cowards. They don`t want to say their real names or e-mails. And they just say things they have no idea what they`re talking about.
PINSKY: Dana, does something stay with you? Were you attacked in some specific way?
RAMOS: Yes. Yes. I mean, somebody went on Amazon.com -- didn`t even read the book, said don`t buy this book. This woman is vile, because she`s exploiting Patricia. Now, the definition of exploitation is somebody who`s selfish and taking unfair advantage of someone for personal gain. Now, --
PINSKY: What do you think would make somebody say something like that? Why do they arrive at that conclusion?
RAMOS: Why? I have -- why do people say the things they say? Why are the bullies -- they`re just looking for a target. They have nothing better to do all day. They have grinchy, mean, little hearts and don`t know what they`re talking about. Whereas, you know, if they would just look at her, look at her skin, they`d see that she was doing so much better.
And she kept saying, Dana is doing so much more for me on a personal level than just helping me with my skin.
PINSKY: So, Dana --
RAMOS: There`s a lot of damage to fix there, too.
PINSKY: Right. So, her skin looks a lot better and you`re saying she is a personal friend of yours. That this is somebody --
RAMOS: It has become a personal friend. It started out as a business decision. Look, would I be sitting here right now talking about my book and anything else if I hadn`t met her and used her as a spokeswoman? I met her when media had already died off on her before the nightclub event.
PINSKY: But let`s listen to your language, Dana. I met her and I used her. Don`t you think people might have a little bit of trouble with her?
RAMOS: Did I say used?
PINSKY: Yes, you did. Those were your words.
RAMOS: No. I met her. I wanted to use her as a spokeswoman. Where is she being exploited, Dr. Drew? She is having the best time of her life. She said this is the best thing that`s happened to her. She gets a little extra money in her pocket. She`s been financially drained to protect herself from something she did not do. And she`s looking great.
PINSKY: All right. Let`s look. Maybe we can look at a little footage of her and help you understand, I think, what people have a problem with. Do we have that, in the control room, do we have that footage available? Can we show something about what -- OK.
It`s coming in just a second, because I saw some things as a physician that troubled me. No. I don`t want to see that. I want to see her in action if we`ve got that. Do we have --
RAMOS: Yes. You want to see her falling down.
PINSKY: No. I don`t want to see her falling down. That was just clearly intoxicated in that particular video.
RAMOS: Right. I met her before that.
PINSKY: She told me that she does not have a problem, but here she is now with you. And she`s on the phone --
RAMOS: She deliberately did that as a joke. She did that as a joke, and you know it. Your producers heard her say I`m going to pretend I`m talking to someone on the phone. It`s her sense of humor, and it works. She was on comedy shows and excerpt in on comedy shows for several days. She knew it would be funny, and it was funny.
PINSKY: Let`s take a call from somebody --
RAMOS: For those who don`t think it`s funny --
PINSKY: Well, I saw something very different, but let`s take a call from Katrina in Louisiana -- Katrina.
KATRINA, LOUISIANA: Hey. She looked black. And how come she lost all her blackness in like three months? How did your book make her lose all that?
RAMOS: Well, look, the first thing she did is stopped tanning. Right away, her skin started to heal because sun is the worst thing you can do for your skin. She had a lot of other damage. She had, you know, fine lines and some discoloration.
And the book teaches you how to do glycolic peels at home safely. And she was following it. And she just loves the way she looks now. She has no intention of going back to tanning, and she`s having a wonderful time.
PINSKY: Dana, but here`s what troubled me. She literally had -- she, on this show, said she had no perception of how she looked in that picture you all are looking at. She said I didn`t see it. Then she preceded to talk about -- hang on. Hang on. Then she proceeded to talk about her head trauma, which was profound, this part of the brain here.
Then we see her being manic and having lip smacking repetitively which is called tardic dyskinesia. This is somebody with some neurological problems. I`m a physician. I`m telling you that`s what I was looking at. And that, that is what people had some trouble with in terms of you coming on and saying you used her for a business venture.
This woman may not have -- she may have been -- may not have had the ability to perceive what was going on. So, my question to you is, would she still have been your friend and would she still be your friend if the business elements were not present?
RAMOS: Number one, she had not been like that. She has other tapes I`ve gone on -- this is the first interview where she was a little bit off --
PINSKY: Dana, Dana, she told us in great detail about her head injuries.
RAMOS: Yes.
PINSKY: Now, I don`t know what neurological training you`ve had, but I saw enough to know what was --
RAMOS: None.
PINSKY: OK. So, do you think you would still be her friend if the business venture were not a part of this story? That`s what troubles people.
RAMOS: All right. Listen, you didn`t let me finish.
PINSKY: Go ahead.
RAMOS: After I met her, before that incident at the nightclub, after I met her, and then the nightclub incident happened, I did try to end the relationship. I said this isn`t a good time. She`s under tremendous stress. And, I got a lot of pushback from a lot of people including her. She called me. She said I am so sorry. That`s not me.
That`s not -- I really want to do this. Please, stick with me. And then, she told me some very personal things some of which you heard here last week. And after she told me certain things and I understood certain things, I could not and would not turn my back on her because as we also tried to begin saying last week, I have a very traumatic past the past few years.
And things she said made me say OK, I`m not turning your back on me. She said it`s not about the money. She wanted to be with me. She felt I was helping her. So, I was stuck. OK. This might not be a good thing if she`s under a lot of stress and might not be able to fulfill her role.
On the other hand, she really wanted to do this and she wanted to do it on a personal and professional level. She wanted people to see the new Patricia.
PINSKY: OK.
RAMOS: And in every interview we went on, she was fantastic.
PINSKY: Dana, I want to give you a chance to talk about the traumas that you had been through yourself and what it is you say that you saw in tan mom, in Patricia. You did some use troubling language again. You said because I heard her trauma, I was stuck. That`s not the way people think about friendships as being stuck. Those are your words. We can play it back for you if you want.
RAMOS: All right. I was stuck between --
PINSKY: Listen, let`s hear your story.
RAMOS: I was stuck between turning my back on her or sticking with her and neither one felt quite right at the time. People who are saying don`t, people who are saying do, and I made a personal decision. I had to stick it out with her and I backed her.
PINSKY: All right. Dana`s got an amazing story to tell us as well. We`re going to hear her story. I want to hear your thoughts, 855-373-7395. We`ll be right back.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Dr. Drew. I am appalled. She looks like she`s doing some type of narcotic or something. Her face is twitching.
KRENTCIL: How dare you. You don`t know me. Oh, this is what you think. I don`t care what you think. Don`t think. Think about yourself. Don`t waste your time on me. (END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PINSKY: You were sexually abused, you were physically abused, you were kidnapped at 19. You became a model and then you were bashed over the head and were thought to be dead from the head injury. That`s your life?
KRENTCIL: Yes. It`s very upsetting.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PINSKY: So, as always, we learn from that interview there are back stories. And in the case of tan mom, there was unbelievable trauma, severe neurological injuries. People accused her of being intoxicated. We have that one piece of footage where she was intoxicated, but her brain injury appears to be quite severe. And if she drinks even a little, she becomes imbalanced and that makes sense to me.
She guaranteed us she`s not doing substances. I`m going to take her at her word. I`m back with Dana Ramos. She has been accused of exploiting tan mom, Patricia Krentcil, after appearing with her on our show last week. And Dana, you, yourself, have said you heard all those traumas and it resonated for you because you, yourself, have had some severe, severe recent traumas as well.
RAMOS: Yes. And I`m not talking about her past traumas either. I`m talking about what`s happening to her now, accused of something she didn`t do, financially drained to defend herself legally. People humiliating her all over the world and bullying her. And she wants to do this with me.
I am not forcing her. This isn`t a 12-year-old child. She wants to do this. She loves the way she looks. And as long as she`s having a good time, she wants to do it.
PINSKY: Dana, tell us about what those traumas were that you suffered that you related so strongly with with her.
RAMOS: OK. I understand depression. All right? Three and a half years ago, I had just recovered from what was going to be several surgeries on my spine. I was in and out of the hospital for two years. During that time, a lot of things went wrong. Stock market crashing, my husband`s job was on the line.
And my husband`s father died suddenly. This was in a small period of time. While I was still recuperating between surgeries, my husband who kept trying to just pretend everything`s fine and even went out to dinner with friends saying I`m fine, I`m fine, he got up one morning, kissed me goodbye, said he loved me, went to a motel, laid down on a bed, and shot himself.
So, when people act glib when they`re going through trauma and they`re using certain words like I need you, stay with me, listen to me, I`m going through a bad time, please stay with me. I take it very seriously.
PINSKY: And so Dana --
RAMOS: Especially she`s at risk.
PINSKY: Right.
RAMOS: And I take it seriously.
PINSKY: Fantastic. And so, when she -- so be a friendship did develop that was based originally on (INAUDIBLE) business. And then, now, she is telling you that she needs you as a friend and you`re willing to be that friend and it`s a vivid thing for you because of what you`ve been through.
RAMOS: Yes. There are -- I know now because I volunteer for American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, I now know about warning signs. She is -- I`m not saying she`s suicidal, OK? But you don`t turn your back when you see people who are suffering and they`re under severe stress, which she is under constantly because of what has happened.
And when she wants to talk, I listen. OK? It`s not just about business anymore. And she has a good time. And I`m having a good time. And we`re doing good things for people and I donate partial proceeds to charity. Those venomous people out there, what do you do all day long other than criticize other people?
Have you helped anyone? Have you opened up your grinchy little heart and done a good thing for anyone? See this necklace. It says be positive. The woman who made this necklace, she made it because her husband was dying of leukemia. And when he got well, she works with her bare hands to make this necklace to make sure people know that they need to stay positive in life. Not negative.
PINSKY: OK, Dana. I`m going to take some calls. Let`s get Michelle in Georgia in here. Michelle, what`s up?
MICHELLE, GEORGIA: Hi. I just wanted to say, Dr. Drew and Dana, I don`t understand why people are accusing her of not -- why they don`t understand how much help she has given this woman. I`ve got a lot of skin damage just from athletics and I would love to have this woman help me. But this Dana might as well have saved her life.
PINSKY: Well, Michelle, that`s the point here. Listen. The tan mom --
(CROSSTALK)
PINSKY: Michelle, hang on. I`m going to interrupt you. The Tan Mom story has been one of deepening our understanding and intolerance, because when you hear tan mom`s real story, it starts -- things start to make sense. And it`s also easy to point fingers at Dana. I had some trouble with what she was doing, too, but I also heard a little bit about her back story. Now, I`m a little clearer --
RAMOS: Literally, my back story.
PINSKY: Literally, that`s true. I believe Dana is going to be Patricia`s friend. Dana -- Dana, seriously.
RAMOS: I`m listening.
PINSKY: I`m counting on you to be that friend for her. And I know she`s counting --
RAMOS: She knows.
PINSKY: All right.
RAMOS: She knows. She doesn`t want to take my money.
PINSKY: And you did a great job with her skin. I mean, nobody can take that away. It`s just the whole story got a little -- there she is there as compared to how we know her from before. I mean, she really looks great. And Michelle brings up the point about the potential of skin cancers from tanning so much. Absolutely a well-taken point.
RAMOS: She speaks out about it now.
PINSKY: There she is.
RAMOS: She speaks out about it.
PINSKY: All right. Let`s take another call. What do we got up here next? Can somebody tell me who the next caller is? There`s Paris in Florida -- Paris.
PARIS, FLORIDA: Hi, Dr. Drew. I just want to commend you for everything you do for addicts and getting people healthy and well. I have a question for you and for Dana. It appears that tan mom even before this most recent episode she had with someone hurting her, it seemed like she was always, you know, on something or intoxicated in some form even when she was talking to the press before --
PINSKY: And Paris, let me -- Dana, let me take this one, if you don`t mind. Don`t assume. You guys aren`t trained to assess this. I`m a physician. I can tell -- we`re trained to assess things neurologically very carefully. Just because somebody has repetitive mouth movements and somebody seems bizarre or has disturbed speech, you`re not trained to assess that.
I am. To my eye, this looks neurological and not substance. And believe me, I deal with plenty of substance. I could be wrong. I don`t have a direct access to examine her. It`s (ph) really don`t have urine toxicology screen, but given her history of severe head traumas, my gut says this is a neurological thing we`re looking at here.
Patricia tells us there are affect to disturbances. She needs support. I don`t think we have to jump to the conclusion this is substance. We`re used to that in the press these days. Every time a celebrity falls down and misbehaves, it usually is substances. But I`m telling you, this is something a little different.
Be back with you in just a second. I have to take a break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PINSKY: I want to thank Dana Ramos for sharing her story. She`s the author of "The Skin Regime." And you saw the magic she did for Tan Mom. Also, June Shannon and her daughter, Alana Honey Boo-Boo Thompson, thank you.
And tomorrow night, we will meet a man who went in for minor surgery and found out that he had full female sex organs inside and out. He is a she, and they -- they`re married. Also, Judge Lynn Toler of TV`s Divorce Court. Thank you all for watching. Thank you for calling. I`ll see you next time. Reminder, Nancy Grace begins right now.
Breaking news tonight, live to Rural Clayton. The desperate search in a story on our radar, 12-year-old Autumn Pasquale (ph) on her white bicycle in her own neighborhood disappears.
END
