Did Michelle Duggar put her TLC show before the safety of her daughters? A new docuseries
about the Duggar Family attempts to answer some serious questions regarding the family matriarch.
Amazon Prime's highly anticipated docuseries, "Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets,"
tries to uncover the truth behind the seemingly clean-cut reality TV family. In the trailer,
viewers learn that parents Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar belong to a controversial church,
the Institute in Basic Life Principles, or IBLP. Its founder, Bill Gothard, claimed to have "the
answer" to pleasing God, which involves following a strict hierarchy where men are the leaders.
"Gothard turned every father into a cult leader and every home into an island."
Ex-members of IBLP claim the church is not only fundamentally un-Christian but also
dangerously cult-like. They added that by putting the Duggar family in the spotlight,
the TLC network helped normalize the IBLP.
But perhaps the most disturbing revelation of "Shiny Happy People"
thus far surrounds the lengths to which the Duggar parents reportedly went to
keep their show on the air. It involved covering up their darkest secrets — and
Michelle may have had more to do with it than anyone suspected.
"19 Kids & Counting" allowed Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar to showcase the IBLP and its values. So
viewers saw the Duggars following their modest dress code and engaging in wholesome activities,
without realizing the family was obeying the rules of their controversial church.
Then, in 2015, the future of both the family and their TV series was
threatened after news broke that eldest son Josh Duggar had inappropriately touched four
of his sisters as a teenager. To make matters worse, Jim Bob Duggar didn't report it to the
police for more than a year. Furthermore, the Duggars opted not to mention the situation to
TLC at all. The parents did an interview with Megyn Kelly of Fox News during which
they denied the accusations made against their son and insisted they had moved on.
Jessa Duggar Seewald and Jill Duggar Dillard, two of the sisters who were inappropriately
touched by Josh, also defended their brother. The damage control worked.
TLC canceled the original series, but swiftly threw together the spinoff,
"Counting On." This wasn't the only time the Duggars kept the scandal hidden, however.
As a member of the Institute in Basic Life Principles,
Michelle Duggar must submit to her husband Jim Bob Duggar's
authority. She also allows him to make all the major decisions for the family.
But did Michelle's need to obey her husband and church get in the way of her better judgment?
The "Shiny Happy People" docuseries suggests as much. Among the people interviewed for the
series were Jim and Bobye Holt, a couple who were once close friends with the Duggars. In fact,
their daughter dated Josh Duggar, and the families hoped they would marry. But, as Bobye testified,
the relationship abruptly ended in 2003 when the Duggars told her about Josh's misdeeds.
"Josh has done some very bad things."
In "Shiny Happy People," Jim Holt goes one step further. He claims the Duggar matriarch was fully
involved in the cover-up, and that the family almost didn't share the information with them.
Holt also said that he was the one who prompted Jim Bob to take his son to the authorities,
but Josh was let off the hook because the state trooper was a family friend.
Of course, this was far from the end of the scandal surrounding Josh Duggar. The
year 2015 also brought the stunning news of Josh's membership with Ashley Madison,
a forum for spouses looking for discreet affairs. Josh admitted publicly to being
a "hypocrite" and said an addiction to pornography led him to be unfaithful
to his wife. Despite the revelations, Anna Duggar stayed with her husband. Then, in 2021,
Josh was arrested on charges of receiving and possessing child sexual abuse material.
Although he wasn't a part of the "Counting On" series, the disgrace was enough to end the
Duggar family's time on reality TV for good. What followed was months of investigation, a trial, and
finally, a guilty verdict that put Josh in prison for more than 12 years. Despite knowing her son's
history, Michelle Duggar still wrote a letter begging the judge to give him a light sentence.
If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault,
help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network
website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).