"19 Kids and Counting" star Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar was recently slammed by critics after their interview on Fox News aired on Thursday. During their interview with Megyn Kelly on "The Kelly File," Bob and Duggar defended their son, Josh Duggar, who reportedly molested his younger sisters when he was a teenager.
The Duggars recounted how Josh came up to them when he was 14 years old and confessed that he improperly touched his siblings. At that time, Josh, who was in tears, revealed that he was just curious about girls. Following his confession, the Duggars said that they were pleased by Josh's decision to come forward.
"I think we had one ray of hope in that Josh had a tender conscience and he was the one that came and shared his own, even though the others really didn't know anything of his wrongdoing," Michelle said. The Duggars then talked to their younger daughters to tell them what their teenage brother has done but none of them really understood it at that time.
Josh' molestation of his sisters was reportedly documented in a police report back in 2006, obtained by In Touch Weekly (reported by CNN), which stated "focible fondling." However, the name of the accused was not revealed in the police report, but the website states that the dates line up to the statement of the Duggars on Thursday.
Following their interview, various publications noted how the Duggars downplayed the situation and made it seem as if they did everything right in terms of raising their children in a conservative family setting, Reuters reported. As of late, TLC has not yet commented regarding the Duggars' interview on Thursday, but the network pulled out all episodes of the hit reality TV show from its primetime schedule. After Josh's molestation scandal surfaced, dozens of advertisers also ditched their reality program.
When asked whether or not they were upset over TLC's decision to pull out episodes of "19 Kids and Counting," the Duggars revealed that they are fine whether or not the network considers filming them again. The Duggars said that they were merely victims of a leaked tabloid report that reignited old wounds that have already been forgiven by the victims.
