Courtesy of Jill Duggar/Instagram; TLC
Jill Duggar Pays Tribute to Dad Jim Bob for Father’s Day Amid ‘Shiny Happy People’ Revelations
Mending fences? Jill Dillard (née Duggar) wished her dad, Jim Bob Duggar, a “Happy Father’s Day” amid the tension following her appearance on the Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets docuseries.
The Counting the Cost author, 32, shared an Instagram post on Monday, June 19, to celebrate her husband, Derick Dillard.
“I’m a little late, but Happy Father’s Day to my hubby, @derickdillard,” Jill wrote, before later giving her dad a shout-out in the lengthy caption. “Also, Happy Father’s Day to my dad @duggarfam, love you so much and hope you had a lovely day!”
Jill’s tribute to her dad, 57, came one day after her brother James Duggar seemingly shaded her after he shared his own Instagram post in honor of Jim Bob.
“Happy Father’s Day to the man who has always been my biggest supporter,” James, 21, captioned a carousel of photos on Sunday, June 18. “I am grateful to call you my dad, and I’m proud to be your child. Regardless of what anyone may say, [you’re] the best dad in the world!”
Though he didn’t mention his sister in the post, the 19 Kids & Counting alum appeared to have taken a dig at Jill due to her participation in the Prime Video documentary. Episode 1 debuted on the streaming platform on June 1 and features Jill, her husband, 34, and cousin Amy King (née Duggar) speaking out on their experiences under the Duggar family’s following of the Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP).
IBLP is a strict religion that the former Counting On stars practice and that Jim Bob and his wife, Michelle Duggar, have preached. The institution — which was founded by Bill Gothard in 1961 — sparked controversy because of its patriarchal-dominated standards and mistreatment of women.
Throughout the docuseries, Jill made several allegations against her family as well as IBLP.
“My dad does control a lot of things in the family,” she said. “Family relationships were already kinda rocky … Everything within the family dynamic has shifted, and not for the better.”
Not only that, but Jill also alleged that her father tricked her into signing a contract with TLC just one day before her and Derick’s 2014 wedding.
“I just saw the signature page,” she recalled. “It was, like, on the end of the kitchen table. Like, ‘Hey, I just need you guys to sign these.’ Like everybody was signing them. We were literally running through the kitchen, and it was, like, whoever you could grab on the way through. I didn’t know what it was for.”
In response to Shiny Happy People, Jim Bob and Michelle released a statement challenging the docuseries.
“The recent ‘documentary’ that talks about our family is sad because in it we see the media and those with ill intentions hurting people we love,” the couple wrote on their website on June 1. “Like other families, ours too has experienced the joys and heartbreaks of life, just in a very public format. This ‘documentary’ paints so much and so many in a derogatory and sensationalized way because sadly that’s the direction of entertainment these days.”
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