'19 Kids And Counting' Rumors, News: The Internet Reacts To Rumors That Duggar Family Series Is Returning To TLC
The rumor that TLC's formerly-popular reality TV series "19 Kids And Counting" will be returning to the small screen is now steadily making the rounds on the Internet.
The long-running series was cancelled in mid-July last year after news broke that Josh, the eldest Duggar sibling, had sexually molested four of his sisters and a babysitter when he was a teenager. Police reports about the case indicated that one of his victims was only five years old at the time.
Shortly afterwards, it was revealed that Josh was the owner of two paid accounts on the extramarital dating site AshleyMadison. He also had an account on the dating app OKCupid. To make matters even worse, Josh was later accused of forcing a prostitute to have rough sex with him, which she described as being almost like rape. She has filed a lawsuit against him because of this.
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Though TLC has not officially announced the show's return, various sources have reported that several Duggar family members have been seen trailed by camera crews and that Jill Duggar Dillard, who is supposedly serving a six-month religious mission in Central America with her husband Derick, is back in the U.S. A recent social media post by TV and radio host Danni Starr showing members of the Duggar family, including Jill, was later deleted.
Now, TLC is coming under fire from many who are angered by and in disbelief over the possibility that the network would actually bring back a series about an ultraconservative family that is staunchly anti-LGBT and that tried to hide one of its own member's history of incestuous child molestation.
"It's apparent that TLC is uninterested in the Duggar family's vicious crusade of lies against LGBT Americans," one blogger commented.
"Naturally, this will give the family the opportunity to again hold themselves up as paragons of Christian wholesomeness and virtue, despite having covered up their son's propensity for child molestation," The Frisky observed.
In January, TLC general manager Nancy Daniels spoke to Variety about the various scandals that have hounded its canceled shows "19 Kids And Counting" and "Honey Boo Boo." Daniels said, "Every decision we've made has been done very thoughtfully and very carefully about what is in the best interests of the people involved and the network."
"We feature stories of different families with real people and real things happen," she added.
