It’s no secret that Jill Duggar has had a fraught relationship with dad Jim Bob Duggar for years, so it was a little surprising to see her mention of him in the post she shared on social media in honor of Father’s Day. Taken at face value, she seemed to be sharing a few of her favorite childhood memories with her father, but as critics pointed out, her message for Jim Bob may have actually been some subtle shade she was throwing his way.
Jill shared a tribute to the dads in her life.
She started by bragging about husband Derick Dillard, the father to their three sons. “Watching you with our kids melts my heart and reminds me how blessed I am to get to do life with you by my side!” she wrote.
Jill also wrote a lengthy message to Derick’s dad, the late father-in-law she never got to meet.
“I get a little glimpse every day into the man you were just by being married to a wonderful son you helped raise,” she wrote in her post. “Thank you for teaching him to love Jesus, work hard, treat women with respect, be a man of integrity and not be afraid to show compassion and care to others. I am forever grateful and look forward to catching up in person one day on the other side!”
The paragraph dedicated to her dad was the shortest.
The post included an old photo of a very pregnant Jill posing with her parents, Jim Bob and Michelle, and Derick’s mom, and in her caption, she wrote a short message dedicated to her father.
“And happy Father’s Day to my own dad @duggarfam who always made time for us kids and kept things exciting and adventurous growing up, including the family bike rides, work days at the car lot, meals of cold butter beans with ketchup and BBQ tunafish sandwiches,” Jill wrote.
Critics think Jill was throwing major shade at her dad.
On Reddit, critics were quick to point out just how little Jill had to say about Jim Bob – especially in comparison to the other two dads she mentioned in her post.
“She writes more effusively for a man she never met. I don’t blame her though – JB was such an unbelievably awful father that no one would fault her for saying nothing at all,” one commenter wrote.
Others were less than impressed about the memories involving her dad that Jill brought up in the first place, with one person writing, “I’m glad he was able to make time for the 19 children he chose to bring into the world. What a dad.”
One person called it a ‘genius move.’
“This is actually a really genius move by Jill,” the commenter wrote. “She gets to make the Father’s Day post she wants, honoring the two men who she feels deserves her heartfelt expressions while 1. Throwing some (possibly cathartic shade) at her father and 2. Avoiding the internet masses harassing her with ‘WhAt AbOuT yOuR dAd?’ Because they won’t see this as the jab it’s intended as.”
If that’s really what Jill is doing, we have to give her props. But either way, it seems pretty clear her relationship with Jim Bob isn’t what it used to be – and it may never be that way again.
