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The Duggars Love Defending Themselves and We’re Just Over Here Rolling Our Eyes

Reality TV

Dec 24, 2017 11:00 am·

By Mary Grace Garis

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This sounds crazy, but every once in a while the Duggar family finds themselves in a controversy and needs to come back with a response. How do they do that? Well, if you believe it, it's usually not "gracefully and with a large amount of self-awareness." It's also not, "without references to the Bible legit constantly." It's weird how much the Bible will apparently approve of.

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But from the horrifying reveal of Josh Duggar's molestation scandal to the reason why Jinger Duggar can wear pants, here's some of the ways the family has reacted and responded to scandals.

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1 of 8

Jim-Bob and Michelle defend Josh (and their parenting skills).

Following the news of Josh's molestation scandal (in which he molested four siblings and a babysitter), the entire Duggar clan told their side of the story in a Megyn Kelly interview. It started off with a fair revelation, that the Duggars were pretty much horrified when Josh confessed he was touching his sisters in their sleep.

"We were shocked, we were just devastated," said Michelle. "I don't think any parent is prepared for a trauma like that." Fair.

But then they disclosed that they pretty much tried to solve the issue in-house until Josh, you know, kept doing it. After the third confession, the Duggars had Josh take Christian-based counseling and speak to a police officer.

"Looking back, we did the best we could under the circumstances," Mr. Duggar said."He was still a kid. He was still a juvenile. He wasn’t an adult. This was not rape or anything like that. This was touching someone over their clothes." Uhhhhhh…

But the most jarring part of this is Jim-Bob defending their choice to share their family (and as such, expose their dirty laundry) with the rest of Americ. "When they asked us to do that reality TV show, all of this had been taken care of five years before, and we had a clean bill of health from the state," Jim-Bob said.

OH. WELL THEN. I guess that makes it ok.

2 of 8

Jill and Jessa defend Josh.

Jill and Jessa had a joint interview with the Fox News personality as well, and while they identified as victims, their defense was also conflicting.

"I'm not going to justify anything that he did or say it was ok, not permissible, but I do want to speak up in his defense against people who are calling him a child molester or a pedophile or a rapist, [like] some people are saying," Jessa said. "I'm like, 'That is so overboard and a lie, really.' I mean, people get mad at me for saying that, but I can say this because I was one of the victims."

It's a sore subject because yes, the Duggar girls were prey to this unwanted touching. Nevertheless, it's harrowing to see the sisters be like, "No, Josh isn't a child molester, like that's a lie."

Not really convinced, fam.

3 of 8

Anna Duggar defends herself and Josh (AGAIN), this time following his cheating scandal.

Josh is seriously a monster, and we can't even believe that Anna Duggar is still with him and five children deep. The popular theory there is that she's sort of trapped in that situation; she'd be losing her meal ticket by bailing on Josh (not practical when you have five children) and disowned from her own fundie AF family.

We digress.

Once Josh's porn addiction and Ashley Madison account were revealed, Anna went on Counting On and tearfully talked about how she felt in light of the exposure.

"Not only was it a betrayal against me but it was also a betrayal for those that call themselves Christians," she said, misty-eyed and humiliated. "Everyone was able to see us get married and vow before God to be loyal to each other and that loyalty was broken."

Even if you hate the Duggars and can't believe Anna would stick it out with Josh, it's a very dark moment. Anna's response to the backlash is to cry, because what else can she do?

4 of 8

Jessa defends her lack of home hygiene.

Well, when Jessa shared her messy AF home on Instagram commenters were quick to critique that it wasn't a healthy environment for small children (but maybe a thriving home for rat babies). Jessa wrote a freaking novel explaining that she just wanted to be real with us. This is reality.

…stacked dirty diapers is reality.

Also that she didn't want to miss out on time with her children by doing nominal chores, which are, btw, freaking exhausting. "Sometimes you find yourself with an 8-month-old who isn't sleeping through the night, and you don't care that your bed has spit up on it — you're tired," she wrote."Throw a towel down on it and sleep!

Ultimately we're not hugely insulted by her defense because being a young mother has got to be hard. But really, that mountain of dirty diapers? The diaper pail being out of commission is not an ok excuse. Please be better.

5 of 8

Derick Dillard sort of doesn't defend his weird fundraiser but does react to it.

Derick posted a fundraiser on Pure Charity with a hefty $6,500 goal. Why? "For the next year, I will be serving through a program at my home church, called the Cross Church School of Ministry," the description read at the time. "I am so excited about this incredible opportunity for further ministry development, and I would like to invite you to share in this excitement with me."

"I have a donations goal of $6,500. This will enable me to fulfill my specific calling to ministry this year, including trips for Gospel-advancement and humanitarian work in Northwest Arkansas, North America, and abroad."

Wow. So basically people weren't super thrilled that Derick was just asking for hand-outs for his "humanitarian" work, which in itself sounds kind of sketchy. The Dillards ended up taking down their fundraiser after receiving a meager $125 (which, you know, lol).

6 of 8

Derick defends his gross self being transphobic.

And then there was that time Derick bullied a transgendered teenager. With TLC greenlighting a show about transgendered teen Jazz Jennings, Derick decided to give his unsolicited opinion. "What an oxymoron… a 'reality' show which follows a non-reality," he tweeted. "'Transgender' is a myth. Gender is not fluid; it's ordained by God."

Derick followed up with a half-hearted non-apology in which he continuously misgendered the female-identifying Jazz.

"I want to be clear. I have nothing against him. I only have issue with the words and definitions being propagated here," he said.

That went over well with TLC, as we're sure you could imagine.

7 of 8

Joy-Anna and Austin defend their right to see bull-riding.

Yeah, seriously.

Basically, the couple posted a picture of themselves at a rodeo and fans started rumbling about that good old Duggar hypocrisy, that the two were anti-abortion but pro animal abuse. They responded charmingly.

"Not animal ‘abuse’, and humans and animals are not equal," read their response.

And then there came the bible passages. "'God is no ape, and we are created in His image. Genesis 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him, male and female created he them."' Wow, convinced.

They also mentioned that it was a "bulldogging" free rodeo (i.e. nobody was tackling bulls), but there was some fun calf roping! Nothing like watching some babies get roped!

8 of 8

Jeremy Vuolo defends Jinger's right to wear pants.

Jinger is free. Or is she?

When Jinger first started wearing pants (Satan really fist-pumped that day) a sect of the fanbase thought she was turning on her super fundie upbringing and Christian values. But it's ok, guys: Jeremy gave her permission to wear pants. He explained that pants are fine as long as you can keep yourself covered.

"It is your liberty as to whether you dress modestly with a modest pair of pants, or with a skirt, or with a T-shirt, or with a blouse," Jeremy said. Options!

However, "It is not your liberty, women, to wear sensual, seductive clothing that is designed to draw the attention of your brothers," he added.

Maybe this is more of explanation or backstory than an outright defense. But there you have it. Jinger can wear pants now because she's not under the rule of her father anymore, she's under the rule of her husband.

Bless.