Josh Duggar’s Parents Downplay Molestation: ‘This Was Not Rape Or Anything Like That’
Josh Duggar’s parents, Jim Bob and Michelle, spoke out about the molestation scandal in a Fox News interview on Wednesday night. While they did admit to their son’s wrongdoings, the 19 Kids and Counting stars seemed to minimize his actions throughout their conversation with Megyn Kelly.
Only the Duggars could be exposed for covering up child molestation and somehow still make themselves the victim. #DuggarInterview
— Jason Rector (@jasonrector) June 4, 2015
According to Vox, the interview was a way for the “Duggars to attempt to save face” — and perhaps to save their long-running show that was recently removed from TLC’s lineup.
During The Kelly File interview, both Jim Bob and Michelle downplayed Josh’s molestation of his sisters and another young girl, stating that most of the touching happened “over their clothes.” Jim Bob went on to say that there were also instances when Josh touched under the girls’ clothes, but it was only for a “few seconds.”
“This was not rape or anything like that. This was, like, touching somebody over their clothes. There were a couple incidents where he touched them under their clothes, but it was, like, a few seconds.”
Reality Blurred‘s Andy Denhart points out that Michelle Duggar seemed to be more concerned with how her daughters have been “victimized” by the public, than what her son Josh did to them.
“All you need to know about their horrific response is that they think the disclosure of Josh’s molestation is worse than his actual molestation. Michelle Duggar actually said this about her daughters: ‘They’ve been victimized more by what happened in what has happened in these last couple weeks than they were 12 years ago.'”
Fox’s Megyn Kelly criticized InTouch magazine for publishing an “illegally released police report,” sparking another odd response from the Duggars. When Kelly pointed out that the records were “not subject to disclosure” because they pertained to juveniles, Jim Bob revealed that he and his wife want to be advocates for the protection of juvenile records, once again downplaying that Josh molested his own sisters.
“The big picture is protecting juveniles’ records. … We want to be advocate for protecting juvenile records.”
The Duggar’s reality show, 19 Kids and Counting, has been off-air since Josh’s molestation charges surfaced online. There is no word as to when, or if, the show will be put back on TLC’s schedule.
Watch a clip from the Duggar’s interview with Megyn Kelly above.
[Image: Today Show]
