It’s Time to be Done With the Duggars

Whether it be the newest episode of their show, a magazine cover, or their latest wrongdoing, it is a name we hear a lot. As the latest Duggar scandal emerges, I begin to wonder…is it time we stop giving the Duggar family so much attention? 

19 Kids and Counting, a reality show following the Duggars’ daily lives, aired in 2008 and ran until 2015, when it was swiftly cancelled following Josh’s first scandal. Then, Counting On, a reality show mainly following the lives of the eldest Duggar girls, aired in December of 2015 and is now on its 11^th season. In Touch Weeklyestimates the Duggars take home $25,000 to $40,000 per episode, skyrocketing their net worth to millions. 

Should we keep giving them this attention? Well, according to People.com, Josh is not allowed around any minors except his children, which has to be supervised, so I would say no. 

On April 29, 2021, Josh Duggar, 33, was arrested by U.S. Marshals on federal charges of receiving and possessing child pornography. Upon further investigation, federal agent, Gerald Faulkner, found over 200 pornographic images of children including “a series of child sexual abuse material involving minor children ranging from about 18 months of age to 12 years of age.” Faulkner describes his findings as ranking “in the top five worst of the worst” he has ever had to examine in his 11 years of investigating child pornography cases. 

The eldest of the 19 Duggar children is no stranger to negative attention. On May 21, 2015, In Touch Weekly released an Arkansas police report stating that “Duggar molested five underage girls between 2002 and 2003 when he was 14 or 15 years old”, four of them being his younger sisters. A 2015 Ashley Madison hack also revealed that Josh was having many affairs while married to his wife, Anna. They remain married to this day. 

While Josh’s history is undoubtedly the worst, the family has had their fair share of heat come their way. In 2014, the matriarch of the family, Michelle, recorded a robocall campaigning against transgender rights claiming a new bill allowing trans women to use women’s facilities would “traumatize” and “endanger” young girls. The hypocrisy! 

In 2017, Derick Dillard, husband to Jill Duggar, attacked fellow TLC star, Jazz Jennings, saying “transgender is a myth…gender is not fluid; it’s ordained by God.” 

The family has also been under fire for using the blanket method to train their children to be obedient. Cousin Amy, who is one of the many family members currently being shunned for speaking out about their opposing beliefs, has condemned this method of parenting. 

In 2014, Jessa, another older Duggar girl, visited the Holocaust Museum. After her visit, she went on a lengthy Instagram rant comparing the Holocaust to abortion. 

In 2019, Dillard reported he and his wife did not receive any of the millions of dollars earned from Counting On, even though the show was largely about Jill and Derick’s family. In fact, Dillard claims they did not even knowthat anyone got paid for making appearances on the show.

These examples are just a small sampling of their many questionable beliefs and practices that make me believe they do not deserve the high volume of attention they receive. 

I must admit, like many others, I am a sucker for reality television. Maybe it’s the psychology nerd in me, but I enjoy seeing how others live their lives. But, to what extent? Yes, their ultra-conservative, side-hugging, bargain-hunting way of life can be fascinating. However, their extremely problematic actions are unfortunately just not worth the watch. 

I often think about Josh’s many victims and the way the LGBTQ+ community has been singled out and bullied by the family. In a sense, it feels disrespectful to the victims and their families to continue to watch them and contribute to their fortune. I believe the attention and support should go to said victims and families instead. 

I am hoping that amid all of the recent chaos regarding Josh, TLC strongly considers cancelling this show, and any further shows about the Duggar family once and for all. Or the collective viewers should decide to be done watching the shows and force TLC to cancel them. Considering this is their main source of income, this would have a large impact on the family. This would likely have a trickle effect on their large social media following and news presence. However, I do intend to follow what happens to Josh, and hope that his (harsh) punishment is made public. 

With such a small amount of time and so many options for entertainment, we should channel our attention elsewhere. At face value, they seem to be a perfectly lovely, big, religious family. They have proven that is not the case. The Duggars have had enough opportunities to use their platform for good and have chosen not to do so too many times now. So, it is time to stop putting this family on a pedestal. While I do not believe in cancel culture, I do believe their 13 year-long television career needs to be done.