Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar have finally decided how they’re going to do damage control in a last-ditch effort to save their show — the Duggar family is going to play to their base by appearing on the Fox News Channel. The Kelly File host Megyn Kelly scored a coveted sit-down with the 19 Kids and Counting stars.
According to Deadline , Megyn Kelly’s interview with Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar will air Wednesday night at 9 p.m. ET on the Fox News Channel. It will be the Duggar’s first interview since their son, Josh Duggar, admitted to sexually molesting four of his younger sisters.
Megyn will conduct the interview at the Duggar family’s home in Arkansas. There’s no word on whether she’ll be tough on the Duggars, but Jim Bob and Michelle make it sound like they’re going to work hard to play the pity card. They shared the news about the Megyn Kelly interview on the Duggar Family website.
“Next week we will sit down with Megyn Kelly on Fox News to share our hearts with you about the pain that we walked through as a family twelve years ago, the tears we all shed and the forgiveness that was given. We appreciate the outpouring of love and prayers for our family at this time.”
The mention of the word “forgiveness” is key here — Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar obviously want to convince their fans that their daughters really have forgiven Josh Duggar for what he did to them. However, they also might want to beg for the forgiveness of the 19 Kids and Counting fans who were shocked and appalled to learn that Jim Bob and Michelle tried to protect their son from the law. The family seemed more focused on helping Josh Duggar than helping his young victims.
If Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar hope to save their show, they can’t just appeal to their base. According to ET Online , 19 Kids and Counting has lost a huge chunk of it advertisers — the list is currently 21 companies and counting — and there’s no way TLC will keep the show if it’s not bringing in any money for the network. TLC is already considering a spin-off series starring Jill Duggar and Jessa Duggar , so this Fox News interview could be Jim Bob and Michelle’s last major TV appearance.
Jim Bob and Michelle might think that they’re among friends at Fox News, but Megyn Kelly can play tough sometimes. For example, she sounded a bit like a feminist while taking on GOP presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee earlier this year. Huckabee and the Duggars are very good pals — as the Inquisitr previously reported, Jim Bob and Michelle endorsed him for president, and he returned the favor by defending Josh Duggar after he confessed to molesting his sisters and one other underage girl.
As Jezebel points out, Megyn Kelly proved that she’s not much of a Huckabee fan when she went after him for criticizing “trashy” women.
“Well I do have news for you before I let you go,” Megyn said. “We are not only swearing. We’re drinking, we’re smoking, we’re having premarital sex with birth control before we go to work — and sometimes boss around a bunch of men!”
Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar’s adult daughters aren’t allowed to do any of these things, so it will be interesting to see if Megyn calls out the parents for restricting their daughters from so much while allowing them to be sexually molested by one of their own family members.
Do you think Megyn Kelly will ask Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar the tough questions, and can they say anything that will save 19 Kids and Counting from being canceled?
[Image credits: Fox News Channel, TLC]