Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets, the latest docuseries from Amazon Prime, has brought the scandalous Duggar Family back into the spotlight. You might have heard of the notorious family from the many reality shows they have been featured on.
TLC’s 19 Kids and Counting brought the family’s dirty laundry out for the public to see. The conservative Christian family was initially portrayed as a jolly and educational ride for all the siblings; however, their dark underbelly soon came to light.
Josh Duggar, the eldest son of the Duggar family, was accused of molesting five underage girls. It was revealed that four of the victims were his own sisters. He used to touch his female siblings under and over their clothes since the age of 12. Jill Dillard and Jessa Seewald are two of the sisters who were faced with Josh’s unnatural acts of perversion.
The girls were too young to understand what was happening and thus never reported him. His fifth victim was a babysitter. Josh’s parents, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar, found out about his inappropriate acts as Josh confessed his deeds. However, they planned on staying mum rather than taking any necessary actions.
They even arranged for a marriage between Josh and the daughter of Jim Bob’s friend. The patriarch admitted that the girl was a mere carrot to dangle in front of Josh in an attempt to rectify his behavior.
When Josh’s perverted acts became public in 2015, Jill and Jessa appeared on “The Kelly File,” a news program hosted by Megyn Kelly. Both the sisters defended their brother and claimed that they loved him. They justified Josh’s behavior as “a young boy in puberty and a little too curious about girls.”
They even praised their parents’ effort to discipline Josh. Both the girls came under fire for excusing a molester. However, in the Amazon Prime series, Jill confessed that she regretted the interview, implying she did it for the sake of the show since she felt obligated to help.
Jill even recalled that Jim Bob had conned them into signing a five-year contract with TLC. She had not been paid a single penny for the duration and left the show as soon as possible.
Thankfully the story’s ending is not as horrifying. Josh was sentenced to 12 years in prison for possessing child pornography. The blueprint of an ideal American Christian family churned out the most disastrous chain of events.
The family’s attempt to hush up the whole matter worsened the situation. Despite knowing about Josh’s acts of molestation, they waited for more than a year. In the name of discipline, Josh was sent to Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP), a Christian training program where they taught slut shaming rather than religious values.
Unsurprisingly, his behavior never improved and basically just snowballed till he ended up in jail. The abuse his sisters went through has probably affected their entire lives without their knowledge since it began at such a tender age.
What was your reaction when you first heard of the Duggars family? Comment below and tell us how the history of abuse shocked you.
