Mama June Claims Late Daughter's Ex Was 'Physically' Abusive In Custody Battle For Granddaughter

Mama June Shannon seeks to dismiss the custody lawsuit by her late daughter's ex, Michael Cardwell, alleging he was abusive to Anna "Chickadee" Cardwell.

Michael, who currently has custody of his biological daughter Kylee, filed for custody of Kaitlyn, Anna's daughter, after it was revealed in December that Mama June secured temporary custody of the 11-year-old.

Mama June Shannon recently filed a request to dismiss the custody lawsuit initiated by her late daughter's ex, Michael Cardwell.

In the court documents obtained by Radar Online, the reality star alleges that Michael was abusive to her late daughter,  Anna Cardwell, during their relationship.

The legal response comes in light of Michael seeking custody of 11-year-old Kaitlyn, Anna's daughter, who currently lives with Mama June.

While Michael and Anna share another daughter, 8-year-old Kylee, who resides with him, he is not Kaitlyn's biological father. However, Michael argues against separating the sisters after Anna's death, claiming he financially supported and raised Kaitlyn.

Mama June alleged that Michael "frequently physically abused Anna and the child, and it would not be in the child's best interests to be in [Michael's] care and control."

However, Michael's attorney, Donald Lewis Roberts, denied the allegations, stating, "Michael denies these allegations. This is the first time that any of these allegations have been made against him. He and Anna had a great relationship when they were married and simply separated due to differences in opinions and personalities."

He added, "They managed to get along throughout the divorce as well and had maintained a good relationship with his family and him. They've always stuck together for their children, and we will see what proof Ms. Shannon has for these types of claims, these very serious claims, to make on somebody --- if she has any proof at all."

Prior to Michael's custody filing, Mama June secured temporary custody of her 11-year-old granddaughter through an emergency petition filed in a Georgia court.

In the filing, the "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo" reality star indicated the child's father was "unknown." She emphasized that "the child does not have a legal father."

"More recently, approximately one month before her passing, the mother and child began residing with [June]," the paperwork stated, per Radar.

Additionally, she stated that Anna's widower, Eldridge Toney, "has been the only father figure to the child since a few months after [Michael] and Anna separated in 2017."

Mama June also stated she was unaware of "any interested parties other than herself that would have standing to seek custody of the child." While the court granted temporary custody, a hearing is scheduled to decide whether to make the order permanent.

In her filing, Mama June requested to have Michael's custody petition dismissed, contending that Kylee often prefers not to visit Michael unless accompanied by Kaitlyn.

The "Mama June: From Not to Hot" star claimed that Kaitlyn's visits with Michael were "infrequent." "When [Michael] resided in Alabama, he only visited with Kaitlyn at most once per month, sometimes going three months between visits," the filing revealed.

On the other hand, Michael asserted that Anna had a "very sordid" relationship with Mama June and often went through a period of estrangement. He claimed June's presence in her granddaughter's life has been "inconsistent."

However, Mama June refuted the allegations and argued her relationship with her late daughter was stable "outside of one short period of disagreement."

She highlighted her consistent presence in Kaitlyn's life, adding, "Kaitlin has spent her childhood regularly seeing and spending time with [June]. On the other hand, [Michael] has been an inconsistent presence in the child's life since at least 2017," characterized by "sporadic contact" with the child.

Regarding Michael's claim of paying for Kaitlyn's education, Mama June contends that he "paid for tuition for the child at Happy Hollow for approximately two and a half years in exchange for not paying any child support for his other child."