Jill Duggar News: Netizens Slam Former 'Counting On' Star For Calling Herself 'Tia'
Jill Duggar Dillard has made headlines once again but not due to pregnancy rumors this time around. A recent social media post from the former "Counting On" star stirred online discussions charging her with cultural appropriation.
On Feb. 23, sister Joy-Anna Duggar Forsyth and husband Austin welcomed their newborn son Gideon Martyn. Dillard took to Instagram to congratulate the couple by posting a photo of her sibling carrying the baby in her arms. However, the hashtag she included, "#favoritetia," did not sit well with some netizens.
"Tia" is the Spanish word for aunt. It can be recalled that Dillard and her husband Derick both went to Central America and stayed there for some years for their mission. This might explain Dillard's use of the word in the said Instagram post.
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Shortly after Dillard's social media update went live, a thread on Reddit was started, saying: "Jill. Sweetie. Stop pretending you speak Spanish. You don't speak Spanish." Another of the site's users also commented: "At this point it feels like cultural appropriation. You're not in CA anymore, Jill. Derick is not papa, you are not tia."
Meanwhile, another reply to the Reddit thread also poked fun at Dillard's post by implying that was what happened when she listened to the rapper Pitbull, who is known for having Cuban roots and using the Spanish language in his lyrics.
Another Redditor commented: "I don't see anything wrong with her using Spanish, especially considering how isolated, white, and religious her whole upbringing has been. ... Sometimes when we're too critical, I think it works in their favor. And by 'favor,' I mean it makes them look good in the press."
In other news, the Dillards were noticeably left out in the latest teasers for the seventh season of "Counting On." There were several speculations on what events might have led to this situation but the one that stood out was Derick Dillard's previous statement about another TLC reality show, "I Am Jazz." This later prompted TLC to issue a statement that said the network did not share the same views as he did.
