All families argue and the Duggar clan is no exception.
While you might not see their feuds play out on the family's popular reality shows, TLC's
famous brood is a magnet for scandal.
Here are the Duggars who are stirring the pot.
TLC officially cut ties with Jill's husband, Derick, in 2017 after he tweeted transphobic
comments about fellow network personality Jazz Jennings.
But years later, Derick revealed his exit from Counting On was more layered than previously
thought.
"Now we're like, hey, we need Jill to come back to visit once in a while."
In a December 2019 Twitter thread, Derick implied that patriarch Jim Bob Duggar quote,
"negotiated" contract terms on behalf of the entire Duggar family, in secret.
He also alleged that he and Jill were not compensated for allowing the network to film
their son's birth.
Later that month, Derick elaborated on the claims in a Q&A on Instagram.
He wrote in a comment,
"For a long time, Jill and I were under the impression that the family didn't make money
from the show.
Rather, it was presented to us…as a ministry that TLC periodically subsidized in the form
of reimbursements for things like gas, restaurants [and] travel…But not any actual pay on top
of that."
He also implied that Jim Bob pulled all of the strings behind-the-scenes, and said that
he and Jill only participated due to threats of a quote "lawsuit from the family [and]
TLC."
Back on Twitter, Derick claimed,
"The conditions we were filming under took us to the brink of sanity and could have easily
destroyed our lives."
"I guess we'll be in on your conversation."
"Yep."
Derick continued his social media bombing of Jim Bob when he accused the patriarch of
shutting his own daughter out of the family.
Jill has seemingly been loyal to her husband throughout his dirty laundry airing campaign,
so Jim Bob has allegedly made it as hard as he possibly can for her to see her family.
Derek claimed on Instagram,
"We're not allowed at the house when JB isn't there.
Jill even had to ask JB permission to go over to the house to help her sister when she was
in labor because her sister wanted her help, but Jill couldn't provide the assistance until
we got it cleared with JB."
The Dillards and most of the Duggars live near each other in Arkansas, so getting together
should be easy, at least, logistically.
But the Dillards were conspicuously absent from a large group "Family Night" photo that
Jill's sister Joy posted to Instagram in August 2019.
Joy captioned the photo:
"It's hard to get all of us together now that we're getting older and have our own schedules.
Not all of us were able to make it tonight."
It's possible the Dillards were just busy, but there has been lots of speculation that
their absence from this family gathering is an indicator of a big rift.
It should come as no surprise that the Duggar's conservative religious beliefs are matched
by conservative republican politics.
Jim Bob is a former member of the Arkansas House Of Representatives.
He also lost a bid for U.S. Senate in 2002, according to Buzzfeed News.
Given his conservative tilt, it's no stretch of the imagination to think his views don't
align with son-in-law Ben Seewald, who is married to daughter Jessa.
According to Raw Story, Ben has expressed support for the left-leaning Black Lives Matter
movement by retweeting evangelical preacher Russell Moore who was grieving the death of
Terence Crutcher, an unarmed black man shot by police.
Romper reported that Ben also retweeted Matt Smethurst, the managing editor of The Gospel
Coalition, about the GOP's hypocricy when it comes to abortion.
And while the Duggar family made it clear that they voted for Trump because he would
quote "turn America back to God," per The Inquisitr, in 2017 Seewald tweeted:
"I voted, Just not for Trump or Hillary.
I'm just saying I don't choose to identify myself with either of those parties first
and foremost."
To be clear, Seewald agrees with many Duggar beliefs, but it's possible that his more open-minded
political leanings could cause tension with his in-laws.
Amy Duggar King is Jim Bob's niece.
But viewers have always known that Amy grew up under a more liberal regime than the Duggar
kids did.
It's clear from her appearances on the show that the Duggars are intrigued by the free-spirit
who can dance and drink alcohol.
"I love them so much and I respect them more than words, but I'm a little bit of a wild
card."
But, as Derick's rift with his in-laws became undeniable, Amy clearly took a side.
After Derick's Instagram Q&A, she tweeted at him:
"You really are shedding some light on some very dark gray areas!
Keep it up!"
According to The Hollywood Gossip, Amy later recorded an interview with the reality TV
vlog Without A Crystal Ball, but the video was quickly "marked private" after Amy allegedly
said that an undisclosed person threatened her with a lawsuit.
The outlet inferred,
"In other words?
Jim Bob totally pulled some strings, made some calls and got Amy silenced."
Without naming her uncle, Amy confirmed the effort to keep her quiet, tweeting,
"I've said it once, I'll say it again…'A [woman's] voice should never be silenced.'"
Austin Forsyth and Joy Duggar may have slightly broken the courtship rules on an episode of
Counting On, but some accidental touching pales in comparison to potentially damaging
the family's fortune.
Austin appears to be on good terms with his in-laws, but that may change depending on
how a pending lawsuit pans out.
According to In Touch, he was sued in October 2019 by a couple who bought a house he flipped.
The suit alleged that Forsyth assured them he got a permit for the septic tank on their
property.
But after the tank began to leak, an investigator determined that not only was a permit not
obtained, but that the, quote, "land was unsuitable for the septic system that was installed."
A new system is now required, which could cost them an excess of $20,000 and they are
seeking to cancel their purchase, or recover costs.
While this feud is outside of the family, it could cause trouble within it, if Austin
loses the battle and needs financial assistance.
After all, Jim Bob famously made the men courting his daughters fill out a lengthy questionnaire
that asked about their finances, according to the Daily Mail.
If Derick is to be believed, Jim Bob tightly controls everything from the family's finances
to its reputation.
A son-in-law threatening any of the above should tread carefully.
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