The sexism is real — or is it? Derick Dillard found himself the target of fans’ ire after he seemingly referred to cleaning as “woman’s work” on Instagram, but the former Counting On star may have just been having a laugh. On Sunday, February 8, the father of two posted a photo of wife Jill Dillard (née Duggar) wearing their younger son in a backpack while doing some dishes. After he added the hashtag #womanswork, fans were quick to call him out.

“Hashtag ‘woman’s work’?” wrote one of his followers. “Wow, and I was rooting for you too …” A second piled on, “I was with you until I saw #womanswork. This makes me sad and angry.” A third added, “Woman’s work???? Jill, I hope you know you’re more than just a helpmeet. I hope he meant that jokingly.”

When Jill, 28, chimed in, she seemed to hint that was actually the case. “‘Baby’ Sam,” she wrote with a crying-laughing emoji, added the #womanswork hashtag to her own comment. She also replied to a user who called the teasing out for what it was. “You know by now that [Derick] loves messing with the public. I found it funny!” they wrote. “Yup,” Jill agreed, adding [NIX A] a another crying-laughing face.

Jill Duggar Hints Derick Dillard Is Teasing After Fan Hate Over Womans Work Post
Courtesy of Derick Dillard/Instagram

Still, not everyone found the joke funny. “All this picture says to me is … Jill is cooking with a child strapped to her back while you have the luxury of standing there, watching and taking a picture on your phone. Maybe try HELPING her!” one fan criticized. “Could he be any more degrading? He is sickening with his superiority complex.”

Others, however, pointed out that the Duggar daughter seemed to be handling parenting and cleaning up the kitchen “without breaking a sweat.” Whether both of those things are “woman’s work” or not, her effortless ability to do both seems to be a huge improvement over her mood from a few months earlier. In October 2019, the mother of two admitted she was exhausted trying to keep up with two kids and keep her house clean.

“Y’all …” she started her Instagram Story as she addressed her audience directly. “This is me frustrated … [My son] is screaming at me because he wants a game. I just told them to go lay down or go outside until mommy can cool down and handle this situation.” Luckily, she seemed to have everything under control by the end of the day. And while we certainly don’t blame the star for needing a vent sesh every now and then, we’re glad she hasn’t had to share one since.