Courtesy of Lydia Plath/Instagram
Welcome to Plathville’s Lydia Plath Addresses ‘Shiny Happy People’: ‘Can’t Lump Everyone Together’
Weighing in. Lydia Plath is the latest Welcome to Plathville star to share her thoughts on the Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets documentary.
Lydia, 19, opened up about the Prime Video docuseries while resharing a blogger’s Instagram Stories post discussing the Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP) founder Bill Gothard.
The blogger, M Is for Mama, said she is “not a fan” of Gothard and only has knowledge about the Christian organization from other families that follow his teachings.
“I see a push lately for lumping all Bible-believing Christian homeschoolers in with the IBLP way of thought, and that’s simply not the reality I grew up with (or see around me now) at all,” the blogger added.
In addition to resharing the post, Lydia wrote that “you can’t just lump everyone together and assume they’re the same.”
“And for all of those who have messaged or commented and asked me if I was a part of that, no I’m not,” the TLC personality said. “I haven’t been and won’t be.”
Lydia concluded the message by stating that she doesn’t have anything against those who follow the IBLP teachings. “May the love and truth of Jesus guide you,” she wrote.
The docuseries, which premiered on Prime Video on June 2, features several past members of the IBLP sharing their experiences with the Christian organization. Several of the Duggar family members participated, including Jill Duggar, Derick Dillard and Amy Duggar.
One day before the documentary premiered, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar shared their thoughts while issuing a statement.
“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. Like other families, ours too has experienced the joys and heartbreaks of life, just in a very public format,” Jim Bob, 57, and Michelle, 56, wrote on their website. “This ‘documentary’ paints so much and so many in a derogatory and sensationalized way because sadly that’s the direction of entertainment these days.”
According to the IBLP website, the institution sets out to “introduce people to the Lord Jesus Christ.” It also focuses on Gothard’s teachings, which include enforcing modest dress, male authority and large families.
The organization has faced backlash over the years for how it treats women. In 2014, dozens of women came forward with allegations that Gothard sexually harassed them. The founder was put on administrative leave and an investigation was conducted. The IBLP ultimately concluded there was “no criminal activity” found, though Gothard “acted in an inappropriate manner.”
Lydia shared her thoughts on the documentary and the IBLP after her sister-in-law Olivia Plath spoke out against the organization.
“Good afternoon to everyone except for Bill Gothard [and] Michael Pearl,,” Olivia, 25, said via her Instagram Story on June 3. “If you know, you know that’s a rabbit hole. But I bring it up to say a few days ago, a docuseries dropped on Amazon Prime called Shiny Happy People. That was my life up until a few years ago and oh, [it was] a little triggering to watch.”
She added that it was “healing” to watch others share their experience with the IBLP.
“The realm in which my public life exists, there’s a lot of things I can’t say, there’s a lot of things I want to say about religion, about my past, about the world that I went right back into.” Olivia concluded.
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