Counting On is just three episodes into the season and there has already been plenty of Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar featured.
When 19 Kids and Counting was rebranded, the network vowed to focus on the older children and their lives as they marry and build families. From that, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar were taking a step back and much of the Counting On series was about the children.
Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar airtime
Last season, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar appeared semi-regularly. There were some confessionals and a few outings filmed that included the parents with their grown children. Counting On fans voiced their concerns back then, but this season, it is way more.
With just three episodes having aired, the Duggar parents have been on a lot. From their new confessionals to family events that have been put together, both Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar have been on each episode multiple times.
Some Counting On viewers took to social media to voice their concern and disdain for the network allowing them to appear. One fan wrote, “@TLC don’t like seeing Michelle or Jim Bob on #CountingOn . The agreement was they would stay off and we would watch.”
Another said, “@TLC Came to watch #CountingOn but saw Michelle and Jim Bob and had to turn it again. I thought we wouldn’t have to see them any more. Wasn’t that the agreement? No thanks.”
Why are Counting On viewers upset about Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar appearing?
The controversy surrounding the Duggars goes back to Josh Duggar and his back to back scandals in 2015.
In May of 2015, it was revealed that he had inappropriately touched several of his sisters and a family friend a decade prior. A police report was leaked with redacted information, but it wasn’t hard to figure out which sisters were the victims and what had taken place.
Following that, it was revealed that Josh Duggar had been a part of the Ashley Madison website when the client list was made public. This occurred just weeks after the first bombshell, and he was immediately sent to rehab.
There was a lot of talk about Anna Duggar and whether she would leave him, but ultimately, she remained by his side and has welcomed two more kids with him since.
Several fans were upset about the coverup that happened a decade prior with Josh Duggar. Many believed that Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar enabled their eldest child and presented themselves as people who were on the up and up when they were hiding something sinister.
As of now, the network has not responded to the upset fans who have called them out. The season is mapped out, so what was shot and edited will continue to air.
Counting On airs Tuesday nights at 9/8c on TLC.
I don’t see a problem with the parents being on the tv with the kids.
I am in agreement with the others who think that JimBob and Michelle do not need to be a part of Counting On. They hid the fact about Josh’s sexual sexual abuse toward his sisters and the other young lady and tried to cover it up. The Counting On series was supposed to be on the older kids and their families. There are to many things that are coming to light now and they are not good. One of them is Jim Bob’s control over the funds that they receive from TLC and are supposed to be for the siblings. It is my understanding that the funds are not being distributed in the way they were supposed to. And Jim Bob is the one who likes to be in control over the monies and everything else.
I agree. TLC should just change the name from Counting On back to 19 Kids and Counting because it’s clear they’ve now made Jim Bob & Michelle the starts of this show. I watch the show for the kids but cannot stomach Michelle’s phony little voice & blind adoration of Jim Bob.
I feel Michelle and Jim Bob use their kids and their life events for money but yet they choose to “hide” family events that are not favorable. I do NOT enjoy Michelle’s syrupy voice and Jim Bob’s fake attention. I do enjoy watching Jessa and Ben; they are truly a caring family. Michelle and Jim Bob need to be off the show.