Duggar family followers know all about Josh Duggar’s scandals and current prison sentence. Now, those who remember 19 Kids and Counting and Counting On are ready to see Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets — a documentary series following the rise and fall of the famous reality TV family. Within the documentary, Jill Duggar describes the “urgency” regarding keeping 19 Kids and Counting running when Josh’s scandals first hit the media.
TLC aired 19 Kids and Counting starting in September 2008, and the show ended in May 2015. The show was extremely popular and profitable for the network, but it all came crashing down thanks to Josh Duggar. Josh admitted to sexually abusing his younger sisters, prompting TLC to cancel the series and later resurrect it without Josh. The series came back as Counting On.
In Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets, Jill Duggar recalls an “urgency in trying to figure out” how to keep 19 Kids and Counting going after the world learned that Josh molested his younger sisters. “There was an urgency in trying to figure out how the show was going to be handled in the wake of the 2015 events,” she explained.
At the time, Jessa and Jill spoke to Megyn Kelly about the situation. While they confirmed Josh hurt them, they defended him. Jessa was 22, and Jill was 23 at the time. Jill and Jessa were the first two Duggar daughters to say they were affected by Josh. Later, Jill and Joy-Anna Duggar came forward.
Jill now wishes she never did the interview. “In hindsight, I wouldn’t have done the Megyn Kelly show,” she said. “I feel like I was bearing the burden and the weight of … me and Jessa just felt the weight of it. It fell on us.”
The 19 Kids and Counting star continued on by stating she felt “obligated” to interview with Kelly at the time. “I don’t even like to talk about it because it’s not something that I’m proud of,” she added. “If I hadn’t felt obligated to one, do it for the sake of the show, and two, do it for the sake of my parents, I wouldn’t have done it.”
Olivia Crist, an executive producer of Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets, spoke to People about the documentary. “Josh Duggar is really the tip of the iceberg in this group,” she began.
“There are so many thousands of families that have been hurt by this and have not had a voice, not for lack of trying, for many, many, many years,” she continued. “I mean, hope, the takeaway is really hearing the survivors, hearing what they’ve been through. And then, I think also for people still in, trapped in a fundamentalist or IBLP group, that hopefully this is a chance for them to say, ‘Hey, it is possible to get out and that they’re not alone.’”
This story was first reported by Daily Mail.
Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets releases on June 2, 2023, on Prime Video.
How to get help: If you or someone you know has been sexually abused, text HOME to the Crisis Text Line at 741741 for free and confidential support.
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