“After thoughtful consideration, TLC and the Duggar family have decided to not move forward with 19 Kids and Counting.”
The Duggars’ television show, 19 Kids and Counting, has finally been cancelled by the network TLC after a two-month hiatus.
The show, which made the huge family famous, was put on hold after it the eldest son Josh Duggar, 27, confessed to molesting children as a teenager.
He also admitted two of his victims were members of his family, sisters Jill, 24, and Jessa Duggar, 22.
“After thoughtful consideration, TLC and the Duggar family have decided to not move forward with 19 Kids and Counting. The show will no longer appear on the air,” TLC told ABC News in a statement.
In the time since Duggar’s confession, TLC have engaged two child protection organisations in order to raise awareness about child abuse. Together they will produce a documentary about the survivors of child abuse – their aim is to use the situation to address child abuse and make a positive impact.
Marjorie Kaplan, the group president of TLC, released a statement about the cancellation and the network’s plans for the future.
“We took it as an opportunity to step further than just ‘How do we protect ourselves?’ and step into ‘How do we protect our audience and protect children?'” she said.
“Our hope is to do more of that, in a way that’s thoughtful and respectful of the victims of child abuse – in the Duggar family and across America. The goal is to take what has been a difficult and painful experience, and focus that attention on the really critical issue of child protection and child sexual abuse.”
Click through the gallery below to see the many faces of the Duggar family. Post continues after gallery.
The Duggars also gave a statement, but strangely they used the opportunity to applaud Josh as a “wonderful adult”.
“Today, TLC announced that they will not be filming new episodes of 19 Kids and Counting. … 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.”
Did you ever watch 19 Kids and Counting?
For more on the Duggars…
The eldest Duggar son admits to sexually abusing young girls as a teen.
This is the true face of the Duggar family.
The 6 most disturbing fan responses to Josh Duggar’s confession.
The one important thing missing from the Duggars’ cover up.
That time Josh Duggar made an awkward joke about incest on TV.
Today’s Michelle Duggar interview was an insult to every survivor of abuse.
Top Comments
So a person can't ever be reformed in your opinion? A family can't think of their son as a "wonderful adult" if he's made mistakes in his earlier life, repented, and made amends? They would know their own son - and their situation - far more intimately than any social media commentator. So why is it "strange" that they might have forgiven him? They have acknowledged it was a "terrible" situation and have spoken of their healing, and of moving forward.
Sexual deviance is rarely curable. Paedophiles, even if they want not to be, never are ''cured''. He molested girls as a teenager, girls far, far younger, pre-pubescent, over a sustained period of time, even after being caught once. The odds of him magically deciding not to do that anymore are fairly slim, statistically. He simply will get cleverer and choose his targets more carefully... chillingly. The parents missed what he was doing for years, so clearly they aren't all that in touch with what's cooking in young Josh's brain. Then, when they were forced to face it, they sent him off with another paedo in lieu of actual psychiatric analysis and counselling for THE VICTIMS... these are not people who make clever choices.
Well to be fair, they had 19 kids, so is anyone surprised they might not know what went on in the rooms of their giant house and "missed" what he was doing? ;-)
He's not a convicted paedophile, so anything we have to say about his alleged crimes is just speculative and doesn't change the fact that his parents and family have every right to forgive him, and speak highly of him. He's their son, and they love him, regardless of what he's done.