Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar's speaking gig at the Alberta Home Education Association (AHEA) conference has been officially cancelled. In a press release on Sunday, Nov. 1, AHEA confirmed that the famous Duggar parents have been dropped from their lineup.
"After carefully considering all of the input from you, Alberta home educators, the Alberta Home Education Association has decided to cancel the speaking engagement of Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar for our 2016 convention," the statement reads.
Jim Bob and Michelle, who are famous for having 19 kids and homeschooling each one of them, were initially set to speak at the homeschooling convention in Canada scheduled for April 2016. This engagement was booked two years ago, before their son Josh's molestation and cheating scandals surfaced.
Last Thursday, Oct. 29, AHEA president Paul van den Bosch still embraced the Duggars and insisted that they were still part of the conference, calling supporters to "forgive and forget."
"We don't look for absolutely perfect speakers because, well - we're human. Someone who is perfect? That's unattainable," van den Bosch told CBC News.
"We were getting many more positive emails and calls from our members who still wanted to hear the Duggars. [They] basically said, you know, this did happen 10 years ago and it was the son, not the parents, so please don't punish the parents for the sin of the son," he added.
Three days later, it seems AHEA has changed its mind.
"Although early feedback from our members this summer was supportive of having the Duggars come here, recent feedback from our own members points out that their appearance here would not be in the best interests of home educators," van Bosch explained in the statement.
"As we have learned, child abuse can happen in any home and is never 'old news,'" he added.
Since Josh's shocking scandals, the Duggars have also lost their TLC reality show and sponsorships amounting to $25 million per year. With the family name and business spiraling down, Jim Bob is reportedly desperate to stay in the spotlight and make a TV comeback.
His daughters, Jill and Jessa, will be getting their own show entitled "Jill and Jessa: Counting On." It airs in December this year.
