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The Duggars: In the Media and TLC


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As a reminder, the site's Politics Policy remains in effect.  Yes, Jim Bob is apparently running for office again. That does not make it an acceptable topic of conversation in here - unless for some mysterious reason, TLC brings the show back and it is discussed on there. Even then, it would be limited to how it was discussed on the show.

If you have any questions, please PM the mods, @SCARLETT45 and myself.

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In true self-reliant, no-indebtedness-of-any-kind Duggar fashion, though, looks like they're doomed to stand a while on the dock, wondering when the love-offering vessel will arrive. In the wake of the show's closing, a pattern of behavior seems to be emerging here. I find it kind of mind-blowing, actually.

 

Look to the sky, Duggars. Classic cargo cult behavior. Unfortunately, the plane will never land.

  • Love 9

I have very little hope for the documentary as the Duggars are involved.

 

And most comments on all the articles are bashing the Duggars in regards to the whole donations thing. Don't they have a PR person to be like hey- this is really stupid and entitled??? clearly not!

 

However I think the family not having a lot of money again will help push the lost ones into writing a tell all....just saying.

  • Love 6

Read about the TLC abuse documentary on a Facebook article and came here...the FB article made it sound like TLC was making a documentary about the Duggar abuse, using old never-used footage that Jim-Bob made them bury. I'm pretty disappointed that that appears to not be the case at all, and TLC are still Duggar leghumpers. 

 

From what I understand now, it seems that TLC is making a documentary about abuse where the Duggars minimize Josh's actions because only non-Gothardites are horrible abusers??

  • Love 2

And most comments on all the articles are bashing the Duggars in regards to the whole donations thing. Don't they have a PR person to be like hey- this is really stupid and entitled??? clearly not!

 

I think the Megyn Kelly interview proved that they don't listen to their PR people, if they have them.  Jim Bob clearly considers himself to be an 'expert' when it comes to handling the family 'business'.  I have no doubt that, even if the kids over 18 had separate contracts with TLC, he served as their 'dadager' and did all the negotiating and collected a management fee off the top for each of them.  He really is so tone deaf and delusional that he thinks he knows better than the pros when it comes to preserving the family's notoriety and turning it into cash.  There's no way an actual PR pro with real training would've approved of virtually anything they've done in the past 2 months since the news broke about Josh.  It just goes to show that Jim Bob is going rogue and thinks he knows better than the pros.  I expect more and more desperate attempts to get some cash flow in the days ahead.  And a bankruptcy filing at some point, too.

  • Love 13

I'm not really sure what they have done since the Fox interviews that is really objectionable. Everything is pretty small scale. The Dillard website, the Duggar Studios - these are things one in a thousand of their viewers even knows about, let alone cares. (I know. I don't care.) They did the one "heartbroken" piece, but that didn't strike me as misguided, just pointless.

I actually think they might have someone doing PR now because they are so quiet.

  • Love 2

I don't think that the the things they're doing are outrageous, exactly. But what I do think I notice is a pattern: Except for Jessa's speaking gigs, the family's response to having the show cut off seems to have an unusually high focus on stuff they want to get through means other than their own efforts. The Dillards put their money ask in big type on the website; the "heartbroken" statement was clearly a plea for somebody else to get involved to force TLC to bring them back; Amy's -- and Mr. Pickle's -- wedding communications have had a fairly major focus on stuff and attention that they'll be losing and that they expected; the Youtube solicitation focused on "send us money," instead of what most people seem to do on Youtube -- put out some great videos first that get people watching and only then focus on making the work pay. Each of these individually might not mean much, but to me when you take it all together it looks as if they've become (or always were?) a bunch of people whose first resort tends to be What can I get you to do for me. And there are other things that someone could say about all the topics they've mentioned. But they all said -- I want someone to give me stuff! ....

 

There's a large contingent of grifters in my family, and this is always their kneejerk response to everything, so that fact is either alerting me to something that's true of the Duggars or causing me to over-read these events!

  • Love 24

I think the Megyn Kelly interview proved that they don't listen to their PR people, if they have them.  Jim Bob clearly considers himself to be an 'expert' when it comes to handling the family 'business'.  I have no doubt that, even if the kids over 18 had separate contracts with TLC, he served as their 'dadager' and did all the negotiating and collected a management fee off the top for each of them.  He really is so tone deaf and delusional that he thinks he knows better than the pros when it comes to preserving the family's notoriety and turning it into cash.  There's no way an actual PR pro with real training would've approved of virtually anything they've done in the past 2 months since the news broke about Josh.  It just goes to show that Jim Bob is going rogue and thinks he knows better than the pros.  I expect more and more desperate attempts to get some cash flow in the days ahead.  And a bankruptcy filing at some point, too.

This is the post I wanted to write, except I didn't. lol         Perfectly stated, Jim Bob is a know it all in ALL matters, period.   We have seen it over and over again on the show.    One stupid field trip and they are all now experts and suitable to do anything.

            So, I don't think JB would spend a penny on PR, ever.     

 Every single statement or move they have made since the story broke has been a huge mistake.

               I think the only reason TLC tolerated them is because they were making millions off the show.     I think TLC has cut off all communication and JB is acting like the spoiled petulant and ignoramus he is.

             They are already shamelessly begging ?     That was quick.      How long before he is caught shoplifting Aqua Net?

              Buh Bye, Felicia Bob

I'm not really sure what they have done since the Fox interviews that is really objectionable. Everything is pretty small scale. The Dillard website, the Duggar Studios - these are things one in a thousand of their viewers even knows about, let alone cares. (I know. I don't care.) They did the one "heartbroken" piece, but that didn't strike me as misguided, just pointless.

I actually think they might have someone doing PR now because they are so quiet.

Nah, I think duct tape was utilized.

  • Love 11

FAMY - your parents only have one kid: that is you.  They can pay for your wedding.  Your mom must have some money from being on the show a few times, and for that matter, so do you.  Pay for it yourselves.

 

JimBoob - teach not your sons to beg, but to work.  WORK!  At jobs, that pay money.  How disgusting to have $$$ from being on t.v. and then turn around and ask for money.  What charities do you support with your $$$$?  Any single moms?  A shelter for women?  A food bank?

 

Crickets.

  • Love 19

FAMY - your parents only have one kid: that is you.  They can pay for your wedding.  Your mom must have some money from being on the show a few times, and for that matter, so do you.  Pay for it yourselves.

 

But - but - but she deserves the thousand-guest wedding and a $30K registry too, doesn't she? It's not fair! How can she be expected to set up their household with a fraction of the stuff that Jilly Muffin and Jessa Blessa got? She's a TLC star, too, isn't she?

 

One can only imagine the lengths this woman and her fiance will go to in the next few months to make sure she gets what she believes she's entitled to...

  • Love 10

I'm rather baffled by the fiancé request. I mean, by any standard he's a NOBODY to the fan base. I wonder if there wasn't a lot of yelling when he did that. After all - contacting about Amy's wedding or sending her a gift is potentially someone NOT focussed on the "real" Duggars and sending money to them....

I wonder if perhaps it wasn't an attempt to shake some money lose from JB.

  • Love 3

The Duggars will be checking their doorstep for food-drops next, if they aren't already.  The $40,000 a year grocery bill isn't going to be covering itself.  Then again I suppose they could try to use real plates instead of paper ones and try to grow some of their own vegetables when they aren't too busy filming their wonderful selves.  If that doesn't work they could try selling some of their vehicles or an airplane if they have one.  Baby Mechelle can even take a job teaching waterskiing or roller skating.

  • Love 10

I see soliciting money as poor PR. The Duggars know that a lot of media are keeping an eye on what they're doing. I suspect that they hope the media picks up these financial requests and they will reach a wider audience.

The only ones not asking for financial support is Josh's family & Benessa.

I believe many folks are very turned off by requests for money.

  • Love 8

Unpopular opinion time: 

 

I can't get mad at Jill and Derick about asking for funding for their missionary trip. That's how it's done, and if I recall correctly the two of them have always been missionary minded so this isn't money grubbing, IMO. How that money is spent is always up for debate for all missionaries--there's always someone somewhere who thinks the money is misspent. 

 

I also can't get mad at the KIDS for doing what their parents have told them/modeled for them. There's this strange mix with Jim Bob and Michelle that includes entitlement, a poverty mindset, being predatory toward Christians (appealing to their Christian charity, for example), and hubris. On the surface and without all the other stuff going on, what the Duggar kids are doing with their studio isn't a big deal and could actually be something worthwhile IF handled correctly. But none of this has been handled correctly. Again, I can't blame the kids for it. I've always felt they were victims and I think they're still being victimized. 

 

I wish when the media says "The Duggars" they would just list the parents. They're the ones engineering this train wreck. 

  • Love 8

It is unfortunate mizkat, that the Duggar parents not only condone asking for money, but have also modeled this behavior. Personally I am not a Duggar hater, and generally feel bad for the kids.

But somehow my kids received the implicit message that one does not ask strangers to support them or their hobbies, so I would think on some level the middle boys know it is not the norm.

  • Love 7

There's no way an actual PR pro with real training would've approved of virtually anything they've done in the past 2 months since the news broke about Josh.  It just goes to show that Jim Bob is going rogue and thinks he knows better than the pros.  I expect more and more desperate attempts to get some cash flow in the days ahead.  And a bankruptcy filing at some point, too.

. I thought bankruptcy was to protect one from losing everything to pay off creditors. I don't think they owe much (if anything); they don't "believe" in debt. Since they own lots of "stuff", the courts would demand selling off assets instead of bankruptcy. Wouldn't they? Michelle knows, she taught the kids all about it. Maybe he could ask her!

I agree 100% that they aren't using a PR firm - and not listening if they ARE consulting one. Josh may be, because of his notable silence (that can't POSSIBLY) be JB's advice. If he ever comes out of his hides-hole, it will be a PR nightmare. "Jim Bob is going rogue" pretty much sums up whatever I've ever known or assumed about him.

Although "rogue" gives me an image of Tom Sellick rather than Jim Bob Square Head.

  • Love 3
(edited)

 

One can only imagine the lengths this woman and her fiance will go to in the next few months to make sure she gets what she believes she's entitled to...

I still think Hugh Heffner might make a love offering to Amy, or Jim Bob will step in to prevent that.

 

 

I also can't get mad at the KIDS for doing what their parents have told them/modeled for them.

I agree, to an extent, but just WHEN are these kids (Adults in their 20's) going to stand on their own. A good piece of advice given to me was that you have unto 18 to blame your parents for everything. After that - it's on you. The adult kids can walk off into the sunset any time they choose, and JB can't do jack about that.

 

For the under 18's - I doubt Duggar studios was their idea. It's just window dressing to make 4-5 howlers appear to have something to do.

Edited by JoanArc
  • Love 11

I agree, to an extent, but just WHEN are these kids (Adults in their 20's) going to stand on their own.

 

It's a good question, but I think they've really been raised with the opposite expectation. While JB and M have made many a speech about how they raise their kids to be mature people who can manage themselves (I think they used to say even by age 12 or something) the subliminal message there has always been the opposite. Jim Bob's your headship and your protector and he purposes to have you be his appendage ... forever. He's even said that he'd like to have them all living on the same big lot, IIRC.

 

Speaking as someone who was carefully conditioned in a similar situation, I'd say that those strong subliminal messages really imprint themselves on you and shape your reactions for a long time, even when you consciously try to break free from them. Plus, in this family, unlike in a lot of other highly controlling families, for the past decade and up to now the material rewards for staying on the ranch have probably looked very significant, compared to what they might gain from the literally satanic world they'd encounter outside the TTH.

 

That's a big reason why I've wanted the show to end. Because I think an end to the material rewards they've reaped as beneficiaries of Boob's TLC contract negotiations will provide the strongest impetus available for someone to wake up and realize that their endless little-child status is not natural or healthy. But it's hard to walk when you're in shock, too. So I expect that it'll take a while for someone to rouse from the slumber. 

 

Most people most strongly get the world's expectation that kids grow up and do things on their own. But these guys have been very sheltered from that and assiduously fed the opposite idea. So leaving for them can't be so easy. Their brains are actually wired somewhat differently from other people's because of their experiences, I believe.

  • Love 13

It's a good question, but I think they've really been raised with the opposite expectation. While JB and M have made many a speech about how they raise their kids to be mature people who can manage themselves (I think they used to say even by age 12 or something) the subliminal message there has always been the opposite. Jim Bob's your headship and your protector and he purposes to have you be his appendage ... forever. He's even said that he'd like to have them all living on the same big lot, IIRC.

 

Speaking as someone who was carefully conditioned in a similar situation, I'd say that those strong subliminal messages really imprint themselves on you and shape your reactions for a long time, even when you consciously try to break free from them. Plus, in this family, unlike in a lot of other highly controlling families, for the past decade and up to now the material rewards for staying on the ranch have probably looked very significant, compared to what they might gain from the literally satanic world they'd encounter outside the TTH.

 

That's a big reason why I've wanted the show to end. Because I think an end to the material rewards they've reaped as beneficiaries of Boob's TLC contract negotiations will provide the strongest impetus available for someone to wake up and realize that their endless little-child status is not natural or healthy. But it's hard to walk when you're in shock, too. So I expect that it'll take a while for someone to rouse from the slumber. 

 

Most people most strongly get the world's expectation that kids grow up and do things on their own. But these guys have been very sheltered from that and assiduously fed the opposite idea. So leaving for them can't be so easy. Their brains are actually wired somewhat differently from other people's because of their experiences, I believe.

 

100% agree and very well-said too, church honey. I've always had the same impression. Boob talks a good game about preparing his offspring for life of their own, but everything he does says "they'll never BE on their own..." He wants to be in charge of those kids - every last one of them - in all ways and for as long as he's physically and mentally able. He thinks of them literally as his ticket to Heaven.

  • Love 8
(edited)

I can't get mad at Jill and Derick about asking for funding for their missionary trip. That's how it's done, and if I recall correctly the two of them have always been missionary minded so this isn't money grubbing, IMO. How that money is spent is always up for debate for all missionaries--there's always someone somewhere who thinks the money is misspent.

 

If someone wants me to contribute to their missionary trip, they'd better provide a few details.  Jill and Derick didn't say where they were going, what kind of mission work they'd be doing, how long they'd be gone, etc.  They just said they're going and started asking for money to fund it.  With all the scammers on the internet, I'm not handing my hard earned money to anyone just because they SAY they're going to put it to good use.  Not that I think Jill and Derick are scammers, but they shouldn't just assume people will give them money without giving any indication of how it will be used.

Edited by parisprincess
  • Love 18

If someone wants me to contribute to their missionary trip, they'd better provide a few details.  Jill and Derick didn't say where they were going, what kind of mission work they'd be doing, how long they'd be gone, etc.  They just said they're going and started asking for money to fund it.  With all the scammers on the internet, I'm not handing my hard earned money to anyone just because they SAY they're going to put it to good use.  Not that I think Jill and Derick are scammers, but they shouldn't just assume people will give them money without giving any indication of how it will be used.

There should be more accountability and transparency for all missionary finance. It's just too easy to take elderly people or trusting people and you know, the government.

  • Love 13
If someone wants me to contribute to their missionary trip, they'd better provide a few details.  Jill and Derick didn't say where they were going, what kind of mission work they'd be doing, how long they'd be gone, etc.  They just said they're going and started asking for money to fund it.

 

Oh. Well then that was me talking without all the info. I thought everyone knew where they were going and that they were going with that group (name escapes me right now). Then I amend my original thought to "I'm mad at them for being stupid, because at least Derick should know better."

 

As for the kids, even the adult ones--I honestly consider what's been going on in that family to be abuse that has far reaching implications well into adulthood. Like Churchhoney said, those kids haven't been brought up to stand on their own. A parent's job is to train their kids to be independent adults who can get a job and contribute in a positive way to society. The Duggar kids not only haven't been taught those skills, they've seen their parents do the opposite for all their lives, the majority of their lives, or during their formative teen years. I believe in personal responsibility--but that's not going to happen until the kids cut the apron strings, and Jim Bob is hanging on to those with a kung fu grip. 

 

MMV, obviously. 

  • Love 4
(edited)

No innuendo -- but she drove a Hummer H2 for a while. I remember the one episode where she said it's okay to drive the Hummer H2 (her "dream car") because her kids wore cloth diapers.

Wow, did she really? Because that not only shows a woeful misunderstanding of the environmental impact of cloth vs. disposables, it's kind of bizarre argument for someone who's supposedly a role model for the frugal life to make about driving an absurdly oversized and overpowered car that gets ~10 mpg diesel.

Exactly. Yes I'm judging.

I'm judging as well.

Hey Anna - My baby wears cloth diapers and I drive a Prius! (And by the way, I get about 42 miles per gallon, Anna! That's lots of extra money I can spend on Chic-Fil-A or pickles or WINE! I usually spend it on wine.)

Edited by MyPeopleAreNordic
  • Love 20

FAMY - your parents only have one kid: that is you.  They can pay for your wedding.  Your mom must have some money from being on the show a few times, and for that matter, so do you.  Pay for it yourselves.

Better yet, Amy - go to Vegas and elope.

  

I'm rather baffled by the fiancé request. I mean, by any standard he's a NOBODY to the fan base. I wonder if there wasn't a lot of yelling when he did that. After all - contacting about Amy's wedding or sending her a gift is potentially someone NOT focussed on the "real" Duggars and sending money to them....

I wonder if perhaps it wasn't an attempt to shake some money lose from JB.

I'm wondering if Amy's fiancé will be sticking around for the actual wedding now that it's clear he and Amy won't be getting the perks of being reality show guest stars.

  • Love 10

But - but - but she deserves the thousand-guest wedding and a $30K registry too, doesn't she? It's not fair! How can she be expected to set up their household with a fraction of the stuff that Jilly Muffin and Jessa Blessa got? She's a TLC star, too, isn't she?

 

One can only imagine the lengths this woman and her fiance will go to in the next few months to make sure she gets what she believes she's entitled to...

LOL- I totally agree!  Poor Famy!  

 

This is what gets me.  Both Famy and Dill Pickle have lived on their own.  They didn't starve from lack of cooking appliance, etc. and were able to bathe.  They must have some towels between the two of them.  They must have a waste basket.   Why do they need all this stuff now???  

 

I agree with the idea of going to Vegas.  I'm sure they have been pretty much living together already.  I think they had huge dreams of an elaborate wedding when counting the TLC bucks before they hatched.  Time to get out of the gold chicken coop and come back down to real life.  

  • Love 7

I have no problem with actual church work asking for money. That includes Jill and Derick, if that is how their lives go. He was doing missions before the show, and Jill had always expressed interest in that world, so that seems in keeping with who they are.

And the Duggar studio request is so tiny that I can't even find it. And the Amy/fiancé request was sent out to fans. This is seriously insider Duggar baseball.

  • Love 1

I feel the same way about Jill and Derick asking for money to go on "mission" work as I did when my uncle wanted $5000 to go on a mission trip.  I told him to go to work for it, borrow it from the bank, or let the church that was arranging it help him with fundraising.  If you want to do mission work, then find some way to support yourself without begging from the world at large.

  • Love 24

I have a HUGE problem with Jilly Muffin and derickdillard asking for money from the general public to fund their "missions" project. First of all, the average person does not have access to the Dillard family's income streams. Over the past 18 months, they've been paid by TLC, People magazine "exclusives", their entire wedding was funded, and we have no idea how much cash and merchandise was donated to them in exchange for considerations as well. (One has to believe that FOX News paid for that interview as well.) I also wonder how many of the gifts off their registry were returned for cash, too. Jilly Muffin and her man are going to have to make a better effort to justify whatever they're spending on nail polish and putting on "conferences" in El Salvador. They obviously believe others should take their word for it, hm?

It's not everyone else's responsibility to fund Jilly Muffin and derickdillard's projects. It's unfortunate they seem to believe everyone else should be paying their freight.

It's a free country. People are free to ask for money, and people are free to choose not to give them money. The motivation behind their "mission" may be idiotic, but they've never been rude or aggressive, or lied about what they were doing. Missions, legitimate or not, don't make money, so I can't fault them for asking for funds.
  • Love 4
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As a reminder, the site's Politics Policy remains in effect.  Yes, Jim Bob is apparently running for office again. That does not make it an acceptable topic of conversation in here - unless for some mysterious reason, TLC brings the show back and it is discussed on there. Even then, it would be limited to how it was discussed on the show.

If you have any questions, please PM the mods, @SCARLETT45 and myself.

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