Controversial Duggar Family Members Appearing On Jessa And Jill’s TLC Specials?
The Duggar family is headed back to TV, and viewers aren’t just going to see Jill Duggar Dillard and Jessa Duggar Seewald’s nuclear families on their upcoming TLC specials — Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar have provided photographic evidence that they’ll also be making their triumphant return to TV.
Jim Bob and Michelle recently posted a few new photos on the Duggar Family Official Facebook page, and they show a small group of people gathered for Jill Duggar and Derick Dillard’s going away party. The couple is heading back to the mission field in Central America after a month-long visit back home, and the TLC camera crews were present to film their family members, friends, and “financial supporter partners” bidding them farewell.
“Thank you to all our prayer and financial support partners who were able to join us last night for an evening of ministry discussion and fellowship!” a message on the Duggar Family Official Facebook page read. “Thank you also to our financial partners who were not able to attend last night! We can’t do it without you!”
The post was accompanied by the series of photos below. A TLC cameraman can be seen filming the festivities in some of the pictures.
The “financial supporter partners” mentioned in the Duggar Family’s Facebook post are likely a few of Jill and Derick’s mission trip donors. As the Inquisitr previously reported, the couple set up a nonprofit called Dillard Family Ministries earlier this year, and they’ve been asking fans to make donations to fund their long-term mission trip. However, some critics of the Duggar family think that the Duggars are scamming their fans and that donors’ money is being used to fund what is little more than an “extended vacation” for Jill Duggar and Derick Dillard. This is because the couple spent some of their money on making multiple trips back home for fun family events like weddings, and they were stationed in a country where there’s little evangelizing to be done — a majority of the population in El Salvador is already Christian.
Fans of the Duggar family may finally get to see exactly what Jill and Derick have been up to during their mission trip. According to the Associated Press, an upcoming TLC special will focus on “Jill preparing to make a major move to Central America with her family.” But before Jill and Derick’s family gets there, it looks like viewers will get to see other members of the Duggar clan saying goodbye.
The Duggar Family News: Life is not all Pickles and Hairspray Facebook page shared a few more photos from Jill Duggar and Derick Dillard’s farewell party, and one of them shows a closer view of Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar onstage with the couple. Because TLC cameras were at the event, it’s very likely that the former 19 Kids and Counting stars will make an appearance in Jill and Derick’s upcoming special..
Back in June, CNN Money pointed out why Jim Bob and Michelle’s presence in future Duggar family TV specials or series could prove to be problematic for TLC.
“The logic is this: Viewers would see Josh, his sisters and his parents Jim Bob and Michelle and immediately think of the molestation scandal instead of the family-friendly storylines the episodes usually revolve around.”
A source close to the Duggar family told ET Online that Josh Duggar won’t appear or be mentioned in any future Duggar family specials. The Duggar family’s popular TLC reality series, 19 Kids and Counting, was canceled after Josh admitted to sexually molesting Jessa Duggar, Jill Duggar, two other unnamed Duggar sisters, and another girl. However, as Deadline points out, Josh wasn’t the only member of the Duggar family who did something wrong back when the multiple instances of sexual molestation took place. Jim Bob and Michelle failed to report the earlier incidents to the proper authorities, and their failure to take action allowed a teenage Josh to continue victimizing young girls.
In the wake of the Josh Duggar sexual molestation revelations, fans started petitions to get 19 Kids and Counting removed from TLC, and the network eventually decided to give the show the ax. Duggar family critics are unhappy that TLC is now bringing two of the Duggar daughters back to TV, and, as the Inquisitr previously reported, there’s already a campaign to get companies to pull their ads from the upcoming specials centered on Jessa and Jill. Critics may increase their efforts to get advertisers to dump the Duggar family once they learn there’s a possibility that controversial parents Jim Bob and Michelle are going to appear on the upcoming specials.
Perhaps Jim Bob Duggar insisted on getting a little camera time during Jill Duggar and Jessa Duggar’s specials. Earlier this summer, a source close the Duggar family told PEOPLE that Jim Bob initially wasn’t on board with TLC’s Jessa and Jill spinoff idea because “he absolutely wanted to be back on TV and was never thrilled about the show suddenly shifting focus.” Maybe Jim Bob changed his tune after TLC agreed to give him a little camera time.
Do you think it was a mistake for TLC to bring any members of the Duggar family back to TV?
[Image credit: TLC via Facebook]
