Boom! TLC just canceled the Duggars’ show, 19 Kids and Counting. This isn’t quite the “BOOM” it should have been, considering TLC really dragged their asses and there was apparently a lot of “internal struggle” within TLC about whether they should cancel the show or wait out the scandal. It was back in May of this year when In Touch Weekly began their series of exclusive reporting about Josh Duggar’s molestation of five different children when he was a teenage boy. Several of his victims were his sisters. Jim-Bob and Michelle helped cover up Josh’s crimes and then the Duggar family tried to mitigate the scandal by doing some absolutely horrifying Fox News interviews. Here’s the confirmation on the show cancelation:
BREAKING: TLC is officially canceling '19 Kids and Counting' following Duggar molestation revelations.
— The Associated Press (@AP) July 16, 2015
As I said, everything started going to hell in May. Advertisers pulled out of 19 Kids and Counting in droves and TLC put the show on an indefinite haitus. There were some rumors that TLC was paying for some of the crisis-management for their cash cow, the Duggar Family, in the hopes that some of the scandal could be “managed” away. There were even rumors that the show would just focus on the girls rather than Jim-Bob and Michelle.
The Duggars released a statement about the cancelation too – go here to read the full statement. An excerpt:
Over the last several years people have said to us, “We love your show!” We have always responded, “It’s not a show, it’s our lives!” Our desire in opening our home to the world is to share Bible principles that are the answers for life’s problems.
With God’s grace and help Josh, our daughters and our entire family overcame a terrible situation, found healing and a way forward. We are so pleased with the wonderful adults they have all become.
It is our prayer that the painful situation our family went through many years ago can point people toward faith in God and help others who also have lived through similar dark situations to find help, hope and healing, as well.
We appreciate the love, support, prayers and kindness extended to us by many of you. You have deeply touched our hearts and encouraged us, during this time.
God’s faithfulness and goodness to us, along with His abundant grace have given us strength and joy even in the most difficult days.
We have committed to Him that in all things—difficulties or success, good times or bad—we will purpose to bring Him honor by staying true to our faith and our family.
We look forward to working with TLC on this upcoming special documentary and hope that it is an encouragement to many.
An upcoming special documentary? Ugh. I personally hope this is totally the end of the Duggars, but I’m pretty sure that they’ll find some new way of spreading their “message”. More “special documentaries.” Maybe a web series. Maybe some arch-conservative cable channel will pick them up. They’ll probably become, like, folk heroes in conservative media. Ridiculous.
Photos courtesy of the Duggars’ social media.
Super gross. Please make them disappear but keep their daughters safe.
People and other magazines are still promoting the daughters, so my guess is that the “family” show got canceled, but we’ll get the daughters shoved down our throats for “specials” – like they do with Kate plus 8.
Nope – now that they’ve been driven into the shadows (like society tends to do with the frankensteins it makes) the problem will continue to fester and grow like the disease that it is to be carried down generation after generation via branches and subbranches of this massive family. Pedophiles will always be as long as people continue to think sticking them in closets will make it go away.
@mytbean – yes, exactly. It will continue, it’s not very likely that Josh’s “issues” were just random, first-time ever in the family.
One reason incest continues generation after generation is people often choose partners without realizing there is a familiar aspect to them….so victims of incest, children of ‘functioning’ alcoholics, kids from families that have a verbal war-zone behind closed doors but pretend all happy outside the home – without even realizing it, they often choose partners with those same issues.
And the cycle continues. Sadly, with his predator habits of molesting girls who were sleeping, and the age of some victims….there are likely more victims who don’t realize it. And just because they may have blocked it out doesn’t mean it’s not going to mess them up.
FINALLY!!!!
No kidding. It is so ridiculous how long it took them to officially cancel. And a documentary?? Please just stop with these people.
I’m sure they’ll be back somehow, some way. And TLC will carry on and find some other trainwreck to exploit.
They’ve already found a new trainweck. The Willis family. They only have 14 children.
Oh f*ck.
Oh Jeez-louise when will it end?
And “Jazz”
And the show about the Giants girls.
Something is about to go down. TLC knows it and that is why they finally cut them loose.
I am so hoping you are right…
This.
I think you’re right. Without the Duggars and Honey Boo Boo, TLC isn’t left with much but a handful of once popular but now declining shows like Toddlers and Tiaras and Say Yes to the Dress, and another handful of new, untested shows like Leah Remini’s reality show. They’d never cut the Duggars loose unless they either had something potentially even more successful lined up or something so horrible was about to come to light that the Duggars would become a liability. Given their new shows lineup, I’m betting on the latter.
Yes they have something promising to show. I just watch my Giant life and it is something very interesting and This show never disappoints. I love the show. I hope the ratings for the show is up, because I would hate for this show to go.
Hope so. Really, really hope so.
Don’t know where I read it or if it is true…but, that non-family victim didn’t think too much of Josh Duggar’s woe is me ‘apology’. I think there might be a civil suit.
@Anon. You are correct. But I also think that they have enough to not only go after the Duggars, but also Huckabee and TLC. I think TLC got served with papers and are attempting to get their ducks in a row. Huckabee does not hold a government position, so he can be sued as well. That report and the investigation In Touch did was very eye opening and the right people will have whats coming to them.
I think so, too, Tiffany. I am very suspicious that they’re dropping this show after all.
This family is so sick, I can’t wrap my head around it. A bunch of sexually obsessed weirdos I have ever seen. I just feel bad for the girls who were abused. I hope the don’t get blamed for it.
And you know Aims, sex should have be weird or feared. I remember the talk with my parent, who is also very religious, and while not the most comfortable of conversations never made me feel that I should be fearful or that I am horrible for enjoying outside of marriage. For all the other issues we have had, I am grateful for that.
It’s about damn time!
I was going to post the same thing. I guess they know it is not going away or going to get any better.
Yes, the eew factor was off the charts, but because it was TLC’s most-watched show they dragged their feet. The sponsors all defected–that’s what ended it, not any conscience on the part of the network.
Better late than never. Ugh. I cancelled my cable over this! And made sure they knew why.
Sadly, it’s not the end.
So basically, the “show” is canceled, and they’re just going back to doing special documentaries like they did in the beginning? No wonder the “cancellation” wasn’t headline news everywhere.
I cannot believe the poor judgment on TLC’s part. If they had just canceled right away, they *might* have retained a small ounce of respect from the public, but they waited forever, only to cancel in the end anyway. SMH. Their image issue will never go away now and rightly so. I hope their shit tanks.
Don’t underestimate the power crappy Reality TV shows have over the public.
Well, that was certainly an eternity of waiting.
Why is TLC allowing them to air a ‘special documentary?’ Have they done that for Mama June and her boyfriend? Nope. So what’s the point?
Geez, someone at TLC loves child-sex scandals. Can’t let go of them.
They are doing it because they want to see if people will still be willing too watch them. If the public turns in and they get good rating TLC will ease them back on the air in some aspects in 2016.
TLC did the same with Kate Gosselin they gave her a one hour special to see if people would watch and they did so they gave Kate Plus 8 back on the air.
You are probably right. So now we know where their limit is; child rape is a no, child molesting is a well maybe.
Maybe they’ll get Bill Cosby to narrate…
Took ’em long enough. I’m still skeptical. I cannot forgive TLC just yet.
FINALLY, none the less I refuse to support any current or new TLC show. This network tried to nickel and dime child molestation, I hope they go down in an inferno of internal chaos.
Josh overcame a terrible situation, of facing absolutely no consequences for molesting his young sisters, and we thank God every day that we raised our brood mares, I mean daughters, to put a man’s thoughts and feelings before everything else so that they wouldn’t stand up for themselves!
Flam… flames… On the side of my face….
Anyone who quotes ‘Clue’ to me…is…..AWESOME.
Pretty much.
TLC is making a big deal of this upcoming “commercial free” molestation special. Of course it’s commercial free, if they could get any sponsors to touch these people with a 10-foot pole, it wouldn’t be canceled.
Totally agree. Goodness gracious, how these people and that network disgust me.
“molestation special”. The fact that not one, but a string of network executives probably saw that exact phrase written down and thought, “Yep, sounds like a plan, let’s greenlight it” boggles my mind.
So we can’t boycott any companies because there are no sponsors of this mess?
I love you just for the Clue reference.
Finally. It was obvious over the past two months there was no coming back. There adwardness even when they post something family related, so no way was a show going to work anymore.
Poor Papa Duggar, he’s going to miss the millions he generated from that show and other related money-makers.
Edit. Upcoming documentary on molestation and their faith? What the. . .
What is TLC thinking?
Just another national TV forum for them to say it’s all good and nothing really happened… until the media violated them.
What are they gonna live off now?
They can always go back to raising chickens I guess.
Hallelujah! Praise the Lord.
BWHAAAAAAHAAA!
BFT (’bout fn time).
Their statement tries to use a lot of happy talk about God and faith to obscure the fact that their son is a sexual predator, that they did not get their girls the help they needed, and that they valued their show above all else. These people and their Quiverfull cult need to go away.
This. And I’m annoyed they still get a special after all this.
ALL of this.
Well I guess better late than never but this should have happened months ago.
do they just, like, pepper each sentence with random commas or what? I guess they didn’t pick up grammatical/writing skills in their Homeschool Bible Studies.
I was all set to post the “Hallelujah” emoji, and then I read the words “special documentary.” >=(
TLC are idiots.
Still keeping the door open with that Jessa and Jill doc. They must think everyone is so dumb… as if I care about what those two have to say. They’ve been brainwashed beyond belief.
The entire TLC should be shut down. It’s not The Learning Channel, it’s The Low-life Channel.
TLC = Trashy Lustful Christians
Good one!
TLC = Touching Little Children
Boom!!!!
The comments on TLC’s FB page yelling at the network for finally doing the right thing and canceling the show are appalling. I’m disgusted by so-called loving Christians supporting this cult.
I do hope it is a special documentary on how their faith carries them through the legal journey of the State of Arkansas strips them of parental rights
Hahahaha, now that I would watch!
It’s about damn time.
And here’s what the CEO of Discovery Communications, parent company of TLC, makes — an astounding figure even by today’s standards.
http://variety.com/2015/tv/news/discovery-communications-david-zaslav-156-million-salary-2014-1201466141/
And where does Discovery come up with that kind of money? Their stock was down, their ratings down and the revelations and cover-up about Josh Duggar did not help.
http://money.cnn.com/2015/05/26/investing/discovery-communications-stock-ceo-david-zaslav/
What kind of documentary special is this going to be: Top 3 Most Fascinating Sexual Predators? Bring on Bill Cosby, Josh Duggar and … oh, someone help me! I know there’s more! Stephen Collins?
The era of large family reality series on TLC might be coming to a close because the powers that be want to jump on the popular subject of the day: transgender issues
TLC only cares about the money, a documentary will still bring in money for that network.
TLC has been on a downward path for a long time and let’s face it, they didn’t start at the mountaintop where the Duggars think they are. I truly think that this “Josh scandal” is the tip of the iceberg with ths family. What other abuses and horror stories lurk in the darkness including sexual and certainly physical especially with the girls.Hoping a few can escape rather than continue this for the next generation.
I’m with you on thinking there’s Much more to the story (I’m looking at you, Jim Bob).
God, I hope not. This was more than bad enough.
Praise Jesus.
I hope the victim that is supposedly suing josh goes after TLC. There is NO way in hell Harpo and Oprahs staff did not notify them after they turned these bastards into the state of Arkansas!!
” In August, TLC will air a documentary featuring Jill and Jessa Duggar—two of Josh’s victims—as well as other survivors of molestation. ”
I dunno, I think this sounds like more Duggar Hell is coming…..
there IS A GOD AND SHE IS PISSED @ the gold-Duggers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! yea!
This show should have never been on the air. So much for TLC’s “research”. This network has some learning of their own to do
I view this site on a daily basis and I have never been happier to read the cancellation of child molesters’ (includes all of them) cash cow! I was a victim of child molestations at age of 6 and the horrific consequences of it have affected my life for over 50 years; yes, it will never heal!
This show and all the participants were all just about MONEY! We all need to continue to boycott all advertisers sponsoring any show from members of this molesters’ family to send a message the pain of the victims will NEVER heal despite therapy, etc.
Thank you for sharing this, JaP – it must be painful to share and I acknowledge that pain. May peace of mind find you.
Dear BBLR, thank you so much for your comforting words. You are very kind. Have a blessed day. Much love.
TLC will hang the Duggars out to dry in covering their own arses, if comes to that (and they made all the cash they can make off them). They knew. If Oprah’s show knew, the rest of the bigwigs knew.
I’m actually incensed at the idea of a ‘special documentary’ – is it covering how they found “healing and a way forward” by breaking the law & hiding their son’s molestation of his sisters and other young girls in the community? By denying their daughters the therapy they need?
Does this documentary focus on their solutions of encouraging “side hugs”, limiting physical contact, forbidding certain types of clothing, LOCKING the girls’ bedroom door, etc? None of which helped the girls to heal, and none of which prevents abuse – pedophiles are very skilled at finding opportunities even at a gathering or in a room full of people.
If TLC is going to give them a platform to preach that “way forward” and influence others, they truly are the Touching Little Children network.
I wonder if they are going to spotlight the the “help” that the girls got. It was written by another child molester…Bill Gothard and blames the victim for the abuse.
If TLC does not show that and come out and say abuse is NEVER the fault of the victim, they are indeed as bad as jim-bob,michelle and josh.
I just want to say something before I try to blitz everything out with my usual coping mechanisms. When I was 6 or 7 years old I was molested by a 14 year old boy, “E”, the son of family friends we saw rather frequently. I didn’t tell a soul for many, many years, and it took me two decades before I could even tell my mother about it (she’s the only one in the family that knows). Yesterday, while making dinner, someone informed me that “E” had just been arrested for the sexual assault of a minor. He is 35 years old today, married with small children–he has a daughter. He was arrested for the sexual assault of a girl over the span of five years; from the ages of 6 to 11 years old. I had to make up an excuse and leave. I broke down. I feel like I failed that little girl. If I had said something a long time ago, maybe that little girl could have retained her childhood.
To all the Josh Duggar apologists: inappropriate behavior towards children or family members is not a normal extension of being a hormonal young teenager. It is NOT okay and it is NOT normal. It is symptomatic of something worse, something that can ruin lives and childhoods. People don’t outgrow that kind of predilection. It isn’t cured with a few prayers or by having the traditional model of the happy family. I lived with a lot of shame and self-loathing, and growing up I tried to excuse his actions by telling myself that he was just a stupid, hormonal teenager– he would never do that to another kid. Now look at what’s happened.
Oh Aysla.. sweetie….*hugs you if that’s ok*
No. no,no, no. You are NOT to blame for what he did to others because you didn’t tell. I understand how you feel that way because I was molested between 6 and 7. I didn’t breathe a WORD because I was scared. Even when my mom took me to the doctor because I was having pain and sores “down there”…and I STILL never told!! And when I did..finally..when I was 15. Crap hit the fan and divided my family. I’m 47 and it STILL looms large whenever we all are in one place.
My point I guess is that it is NOT on you because you didn’t tell. You were little…like me…and scared. That fear never ever goes away. It’s only recently I’ve let go of the guilt of not telling and the guilt I carried which did not belong to me. I…you…were innocent. I hope you can let that guilt go. It’s not your cross to bear sweetie. My thoughts and prayers are with you. <3
Hugs to you both, and “just a person” too. Guilt and shame can be such soul destroyers 🙁
About time. I’ll bet this was Daddy Duggars doing “We’ll go away quietly if you give us a one off show”. We haven’t heard the last from this family sadly – the have a taste for fame and money and will not go away quietly to contemplate their sins. They may not be mainstream but am sure they will turn up on some specialist channel.
I still think the 2 girls will end up with shows (or documentaries) of their own. I made the mistake of going onto Jessa’s FB page – didn’t realise they had a Seewald family website. For someone who is uber religious and like to blab on about dressing conservatively she sure wears of lot of makeup and trendy clothes/shoes.
Jim bob creeps me out no end – he has sex pest written all over his face. Apple hasn’t fallen far from the tree with Josh then.
Really TLC..REALLY?
They are full of it. They are only re-tooling it and gonna try and slip Jill and Jessa back in and on TV because… Money yo!
We DO NOT want a documentary involving the Duggars! ESPECIALLY one dealing with handling child molestation!!!! How will that go? “Cover up girls! Don’t temp a man by breathing. You should ask for forgiveness. Nike!” Ugh. If this was not so tragic it would be funny. Because they did NOTHING right about it…and still aren’t! Their “God” is no God of mine. My God loves all equally and doesn’t want women shamed and in constant and perpetual servitude to men. This family is dangerous and TLC is STILL gonna promote them and their freak views of who God is and how they are just SO GODLY..and how being LGBT is a sin and all their other bullshit.
I hope everyone bombards TLC’s Facebook, Twitter, and e-mail with LOUD and resounding NO’s! No, no, NO! No more Duggars TLC! I am BEYOND angry. I can’t even. We…the public have to speak up even louder now because they Just. Don’t. Get. It.
Just what I thought – not a whiff of accountability in their statement.
When we are talking about Dugger abuse let’s not forget that they use Michael Pearl’s “How to Train up a Child. I was abused as a child in different ways but I literally felt physically sick after I read what these people advocate. Blanket train a six-month old baby by beating her into submission?Read about it TLC.
STFU
All i read from Michelle’s excerp is: ” God blah blah..bull$hit blah..more God and faith, more blah..people are idiots blah blah….
I cant even finish It. All I see is them hiding behind religion, using god’s name in vain for their own benefit