Josh & Anna Smuggar: A Series of Unfortunate Events

[whydoiwatch]

I wanted arrogant and ignorant Josh and Anna to fall and fall hard - but this is awful. Seems unlikely to me that Anna knew all this prior to marrying Josh, despite the article in People.

My heart breaks for the victims most of all. While I understand Josh's upbringing contributed to this happening, his holier than thou attitude makes me not feel too sorry for him now. Anna and Josh have long seemed to laud their perceived superiority, and all along at least Josh has known about this. M1-M4 are innocent and will eventually learn about all of this.

Meechelle and Boob - WORSE THAN ANY OF US IMAGINED.

The show should be cancelled immediately, the gig is over - nice while it lasted for them. Hope they have some money stashed away.

[truthtalk2014]

I guess it is back to the car lot for Josh.  Politics is out.  I doubt further education will ever happen.  Too, too bad.

He doesn't deserve further education.  He deserves a little jailhouse education.  

I don't think she was told the whole story by any stretch of the imagination.

 

I can't imagine being in Anna Duggar's shoes right now.

A dollar to donuts (or something like that) she is wishing that last pee stick didn't have the second line.

[SunnyBeBe]

I hope they keep a special eye on the girls involved and Josh to ensure they don't harm themselves. I would imagine this is highly stressful for all of them.  While I normally am very hard on the parents, I still have compassion for the family at this time.  In hindsight, perhaps they would have done things differently, but I doubt it.  Instead of focusing on getting the family into therapy, all they seemed to focus on was getting pregnant time and time again.

Edited May 21, 2015 by SunnyBeBe

[SoSueMe]

That's true about the big communal gender bedrooms.  Michelle said over and over that is the way the kids wanted it now we know why so they could protect each other.

I know it was another home at the time but I keep seeing their latest bedroom makeover episode in my mind. Jim Bob's creepy involvement is reverberating in my mind.

[barbedwire]

Pride goeth before a fall.  I am sure he has read this in the Bible, but what a fall!

 

Josh, if you are reading here, here is  a little advice: the limelight is no longer for you (really never was).  Get your junk snipped, move to Florida near your in-laws, and have your 4th child.  Be grateful for 2 girls and 2 boys and that they can live near grandparents that will have time for them.  Take any low key job and spend your days being a good husband and dad.  Never again seek the spotlight.

[riverblue22]

At fourteen Josh could have been playing spin the bottle at teenage parties, but instead he is expected to repress sexual feelings and confess any impure thoughts to his parents.  How is that system supposed to work anyway?

 

And what about the comment from the child who said they are struck with a rod?  How much of that goes on?

[JoanArc]

 

SOMEONE in Arkansas has it in for the Duggars. Arkansas has always been known as a state that plays hard and dirty politics, but wow, this was pretty harsh. I'm wondering if someone didn't have a "helpful" connection at the police station.

Someone mentioned the Clintons. True, they're powerful in Arkansas/The Entire world, but I'd wager it was a conservative person/persons doing it. Josh isn't even a gnat to the Clintons. Hell, maybe a Duggar daughter called up Santorum and told him to dig.

[xls]

I blame the PARENTS and their unnatural life-style. Teenagers not allowed to mix socially with OTHER teens like normal Americans. Instead sequestered alone 24/7 with no other girls but their Sisters. What do they expect? 

[Literata]

TLC has no choice but to cancel them, right? Does anyone think they'll let them stick around after this?

[Foghorn Leghorn]

Truthfully I would not have been surprised if it was Jim Bob who had been guilty of molestation instead of Josh.  Now both are creepy.  How did Josh know anything much about sexual behavior at all?  He wasn't exposed to it, didn't read it from books and no internet or tv access so how?  

[autumnh]

I don't care how old he was....sexual abuse is sexual abuse....his behavior should never be excused.

[Wellfleet]

Anyone in here a lawyer? How are they able to arrest priests decades after abuse but couldn't arrest Josh because the 3-year statute of limitation had passed? So confusing.

 

Could it have something to do with Josh being a juvenile - and the priests weren't? Not sure - just a guess...

[SoSueMe]

Someone on another board finishing up her final requirements to become a prosecutor said that she believes the paperwork was handed to an InTouch reporter by someone in the police department. The person handing off the report allegedly committed a misdemeanor by doing so.

That is a misdemeanor I could live with.

[Barbie]

How did Josh know about sexual behavior?  His parents acting like horny jackasses all day long would be my guess... 

[Foghorn Leghorn]

TLC has no choice but to cancel them, right? Does anyone think they'll let them stick around after this?

 

Give feedback to the network website.   

[Wellfleet]

I blame the PARENTS and their unnatural life-style. Teenagers not allowed to mix socially with OTHER teens like normal Americans. Instead sequestered alone 24/7 with no other girls but their Sisters. What do they expect? 

 

Exactly! 

[JoanArc]

 

TLC has no choice but to cancel them, right? Does anyone think they'll let them stick around after this?

Honey Boo Boo II: Electic Bugaloo? NO WAY. They'll be lucky to speak at an Aldi store opening after this. Hundreds of thousands of $$ were just lost.

 

I kind of hope JB&M have a lot less in saving than we thought. And the the Duggar kids are placed with better parents.

Edited May 21, 2015 by JoanArc

[BitterApple]

What is the video you are referring to in your post? Thanks.

Emme, it was this past week's episode. Erica Hill did a group interview with JimBob, Michelle, Josh, Anna, Jessa, Jill and Ben. You could cut the air with a knife, the tension was so thick. They definitely knew the shit was about to hit the fan.

My heart is literally breaking for the Duggar daughters right now. Jill is a new mom and Jessa is pregnant, they don't need this kind of stress. Jana and Jinger are still stuck at home and now the entire world knows their secret. I can't imagine Josh can go back to Arkansas now.

Edited May 21, 2015 by BitterApple

[autumnh]

There is NO excuse for sexual molestation....I am Catholic and I find the sexual abuse in the church rephrensible......the Duggars should never been given special treatment. The fact that he said he molested his sisters should scream at everyone who reads this. It is not a conspiracy...he is an abuser.

[barbedwire]

Anna in the People article kept calling it "teenage mistakes."  No dear, as you know full well, it was sin.  He sinned!  ARRRGGGHHHH!  I hate it when they try to whitewash things.

[okerry]

TLC has no choice but to cancel them, right? Does anyone think they'll let them stick around after this?

I'm expecting TLC to lay low for a couple of days to see exactly what shakes out and what public opinion really is. They're used to Duggar fans excusing everything they do. I'm sure TLC is hoping they'll excuse/overlook/refuse to believe this, too.

 

They might be right, but I doubt it this time.

[dillpickles]

Honey Boo Boo II: Electic Bugaloo? NO WAY. They'll be lucky to speak at an Aldi store opening after this. Hundreds of thousands of $$ were just lost.

I kind of hope JB&M have a lot less in saving than we thought. And the the Duggar kids are placed with better parents.

No more starbucks for MEEEchelle. The weird thing is that she's still so found of him. I mean, i know you love your kids no matter what, but i dont know how close I'd be to a child who possibly molested my four year old (joy).

But, then again, she does seem to hate Jana, who's also a possible victim.

[Literata]

I don't think we can even begin to imagine the ripples from this. This is TLC's cash cow.

I do worry about the effect on the younger kids, who have grown up with the crew members and seem pretty attached to them. They've never known any other kind of life. I hope the demise of the show doesn't make things worse for them, financially or otherwise.

[Foghorn Leghorn]

Well poor Jill is in that big huge house so I wonder if Josh and family will move back with them......

[Seashell Lover]

Anna in the People article kept calling it "teenage mistakes."  No dear, as you know full well, it was sin.  He sinned!  ARRRGGGHHHH!  I hate it when they try to whitewash things.

A teenage mistake is taking your parents car without their permission. Not this!!!!!!!!!

[Cherrio]

Honey Boo Boo II: Electic Bugaloo? NO WAY. They'll be lucky to speak at an Aldi store opening after this. Hundreds of thousands of $$ were just lost.

 

I kind of hope JB&M have a lot less in saving than we thought. And the the Duggar kids are place with better parents.

Considering JB has arrested development I think he has spent a lot.   I noticed early on that he was buying vehicles at an alarming rate.  They have warehouses full of crap which to me look like hoarding.   Heavy equipment, walls of those expensive red tool containers, houses they flip and can't sell.    

 I will say it, I do hope they lose everything.    Like Kay Corleone said, "All this must stop!!"

[barbedwire]

Do any of you think there might be a "blessing in disguise" in all of this?  Maybe Jana, Jinger, and/or Joy might see the light of this cult like ways and say that it is no longer for them and high-tail it out of there.  Seek out MeeShell's relatives, Anna's sane sisters, or Deanna to stay with.  One can only hope.

[JoanArc]

 

The weird thing is that she's still so found of him. I mean, i know you love your kids no matter what, but i dont know how close I'd be to a child who possibly molested my four year old (joy).

Very true...before today I'd have argued he was the clear favorite. Well, maybe #2 after Josie. Bizarre.

 

I wonder if this will shake out more true revelations? Maybe Michelle or Jim Bob have been victims before. You'd almost have to be to react the way they did. Not that's that's an excuse.

 

 

I will say it, I do hope they lose everything.    Like Kay Corleone said, "All this must stop!!"

The parents, I agree. I wish they could do it without hurting the kids. Let poor Michelle have to clean her and JB's 500 square foot studio apartment, then heat up some clearance Aldi mac and cheese for dinner.

Edited May 21, 2015 by JoanArc

[Isthisok]

I hope they keep a special eye on the girls involved and Josh to ensure they don't harm themselves. I would imagine this is highly stressful for all of them. While I normally am very hard on the parents, I still have compassion for the family at this time. In hindsight, perhaps they would have done things differently, but I doubt it. Instead of focusing on getting the family into therapy, all they seemed to focus on was getting pregnant time and time again.

Oh yeah, Josh definitely seems like a suicide risk right about now.

[Kiss my mutt]

I wonder if any of the film crew had any inkling this was about to come out or suspected anything when it happened?

[Darknight]

So Josh wants to take away rights from gays and women yet his own closet has secrets

[Ananayel]

Josh admits, and resigns. There are many more stories breaking, but I chose a non-tabloid, non-clickbait local paper's article.

[trimthatfat]

I just read Josh and his parents' statement. My goodness. What an awful situation. I feel terribly for his sisters.

[Cherrio]

Jim Bob and Michelle have always had a warped attitude toward sexuality. What kind of father teaches his daughter and future husband how to kiss by demonstrating on their mother. What mother would allow it? Now that we know that Josh molested his sisters this incident seems even sicker. The first people who need counseling is the parents. They are running a very sick home and it is manifesting itself in the children. CPS definitely needs to intervene.

They should investigate about using a metal rod to hit the children too.

[BitterApple]

I don't hope the Duggars lose everything because there are 18 other kids in that family besides Josh. 15 of whom still live at home and need their parents' financial support. Boob and Michelle should be held accountable for not doing more to help their daughters but I don't want to see any of the children suffer.

[shannon612]

Just in, Josh's personal statement. Anna has remained supportive--there goes the likelihood of a divorce. And he has resigned from FRC. I hope the Duggars are ready to go back to 'buy used and save the difference" since Josh kissed his job good-bye, and in sure the show will go downhill.

[Saylii]

Reading through everything again, is it possible Anna was told about the abuse but didn't know that it included his sisters?  They seem to be whitewashing over that part heavily in their statements.  I could see him touting some BS, "I wasn't Gothard in my formative years, the devil made me do it, I had misgivings in God which I'm over, I thought I could be my own man," her completely buying it since there was no seemingly legal backlash.  Now this.

Edited May 21, 2015 by Saylii

[Ljohnson1987]

I feel awful for the sisters that went through this. Anna, don't be  a moron. What about your daughters? The cushy job is gone. Will Smugs move back to Arkansas? Maybe that's why they bought the house.

[Seashell Lover]

There are a lot of shows I like to watch on TLC but because of this I will not be watching this channel until they get rid of the show and yes I emailed them and told them that.

[GEML]

Again, if it had been the Clintons or a Dem the report would mention their support for Huckabee and former support for Santorum. Why waste an opportunity to smear by association after all?

[CofCinci]

The marathon on right now is the last time the Duggar family will air on TLC.

[Leigh3]

Holy Moly!  I keep reading about  his sisters as some of the victims and that he admitted this. I am trying to find the article where he admits this. I keep seeing a lot of speculation. When I first read this I wondered what JB would consider as inappropriate...did Josh full on hug? Then I read the details. Molesting them while they slept.  I think of the other families that he would have such access...the Bates come to mind. Then seemed to always be at each others homes long term. I am sure the victims have had it driven into their heads that it wasn't their beloved Joshy, but the devil. And that somehow the girls are to blame. If the victims are his sisters it now explains why the girls seem to never be alone with a brother...they always have another sister. My husband even mentioned that it looked like a chaperon situation. Hmmm

Wonder if Margie will think twice about her courting a Duggar?

 

[Ljohnson1987]

These people don't believe in divorce. Save the M's.

[barbedwire]

The marathon on right now is the last time the Duggar family will air on TLC.

Did TLC say that?

 

And Java, why aren't JimBob, Michelle, or Anna calling this a SIN?  Why are they using the word mistake?  LIke, OOPS, his hand accidently went there?!

[Ljohnson1987]

J'Chelle and Boob are just as responsible. What terrible parents.

[java23]

If TLC cancels the show, they can all get a gig on E with the sex peddling Kardashians.

Isn't Kylie underage? 

[bybrandy]

Josh wasn't 14 in the same way most of us were 14.  He is going through all the crazy hormonal things that a 14 year old boy does and he has literally no outlet of normal expression.  I'm not defending his actions, not in the least.  However, I don't think he had the same vocabulary to deal with those sorts of feelings as the rest of us.  He couldn't go to his friends house and sneak porn.   He's confused.  He has urges.  And he has a lot of options to explore.  That isn't okay, really it isn't okay at all but I don't think I can give him the same weight of knowing what he was doing as I could a more traditionally raised child.

[JoanArc]

 

The marathon on right now is the last time the Duggar family will air on TLC.

Did they say that? I mean I know it is, I just kind of hope there's a 'don't let the door hit ya' pop up fact during the episode.

 

Now would be a great time for Jana and Joy to give up sistermomming. With all the attention, Michelle would have no choice but to take back over. Then fail. Then the kids get some real help, from the outside world.

[BitterApple]

I have mixed feelings. If the adult Duggar daughters have truly moved on, forgiven and want to continue then I don't think it should be cancelled. I do think Josh should no longer be featured because the whole thing will be too uncomfortable for everyone.

I also hate to play Devil's Advocate for Boob and Michelle but they may have felt they were genuinely doing the right thing at the time by not formally pressing charges. That would have meant four underage girls having to repeat the details of their ordeal over and over. You couldn't punish Josh without doing damage to his sisters. Unfortunately it happens all the time in these types of cases.

Edited May 21, 2015 by BitterApple

[SoSueMe]

Wow, they are still running the episodes right now!

I was remembering Jinger at Jessa's rehearsal dinner when she teared up about losing Jessa. She was talking about the low points and pain in her life. It's taking on more weight to me now.