What to Know
She might not be on speaking terms with many members of the Duggar family, but Amy Duggar was once part of 19 Kids and Counting too, and she knows the family better than most. So after the controversy involving Joseph and Kendra Duggar and their individual criminal charges made headlines, Amy took to TikTok to share her thoughts.
In one video, Amy explains that she believes patriarch Jim Bob Duggar, her uncle, is doing serious “damage control” right now through a family group text. She admits that she is no longer part of the group chat involving the entire family, but she believes she knows exactly what he is saying to calm things down and convince everyone else in the family to put up a united front.
Amy Duggar said she used to be part of Jim Bob Duggar’s family group chat.
@amyrking ♬ original sound – Amy King
Amy says in her video that she has a good idea about what Jim Bob is telling the family amid the latest controversy to make headlines. She isn’t in the family group chat text chain anymore, but she still knows her cousins and aunt and uncle well. She explains that she “would almost take bets” on the damage control Jim Bob is doing.
She says that Jim Bob likely said, “I’m so sorry that we’re going through this again as a family. What’s most important is that we band together and that we show family loyalty and that we love each other no matter what. Right now, we need to just be closer to everyone than ever, including our social media. Now, post about your life, post about recipes, post about your kids, post about whatever, but just don’t mention Joseph, because, you know, it’s not that big of a deal, and we’re being attacked as Christians.”
People familiar with the Duggars commented on Amy’s video. One of them wrote, “I can hear his voice saying exactly this sadly.”
Someone else agreed, “I bet that was probably word for word too sis.”
Another user commented that Amy has “definitely heard him say this more than once.”
She knows why other adult Duggar kids are posting on social media like everything is OK.
What Amy says does check out, because Joseph’s siblings have released statements on social media condemning his alleged behavior and crimes and sharing that they want justice to be served for any victims in the matter. In fact, the Without a Crystal Ball Instagram account claimed that a source said when the Duggars mention they are “praying for the victim,” they are actually referring to Joseph and Kendra.
That hasn’t been confirmed, but it does go hand in hand with what Amy says in her video about Jim Bob’s possible family meeting speech or group text announcement. And many of the Duggars have seemed to go on with their lives despite the public scrutiny and controversy, from Joy-Anna Duggar posting ads to Jana Duggar sharing an Easter post on Instagram.
Amy Duggar says that the Duggars probably aren’t taking the charges seriously.
@amyrking ♬ original sound – Amy King
Amy also says in her video that she believes Jim Bob told everyone that it’s not that big of a deal and that everything will “blow over.” According to her, it sounds like Jim Bob is likely to downplay everything to the rest of the family, expecting them to follow suit. Many of the adult members of the family have released official statements, but, it seems, those might just be to save face while things settle down, in Jim Bob’s hypothetical words.
Later, Amy posted another TikTok where she mentions what “real Godliness” is. According to her, “Real godliness protects children. Real godliness values life over self image. And real godliness protects the vulnerable, not the abuser. God stands with the ones who protect the innocent.”
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