Tomorrow night, the Duggars will return to television, with Jill and Jessa: Counting On, a 19 Kids and Counting spinoff that will focus on the lives of the family’s older siblings.
This morning, several of the brothers and sisters appeared on Good Morning America to promote the series.
It’s the first time they’ve been interviewed as a group since the Josh Duggar sex scandals shook their family to its foundations last year, and as seems to be the case with all things Duggar-related these days, the segment was not without some controversy.
Things started awkwardly, with 26-year-old John-David Duggar declaring that the girls in his family “love” to do laundry.
Not exactly scandalous, but also not the sort of sentiment one often hears expressed publicly in 2016.
But it’s not the Duggars old-fashioned ways that are raising concerns on social media today.
Instead, many are riled up about a different comment John-David made – one that’s being interpreted as an attempt to divert blame from Josh and use his scandalous behavior to promote the family’s new series.
“The devil took his best shot,” John-David said when asked about Josh’s indiscretions.
“And he tried to take our whole family down, but God has really used this to – instead of tearing us apart as a family, he’s using it to draw us together.”
When asked about the healing process and prompted to discuss the events that will be depicted on Counting On, John-David continued:
“You just have to watch. We’re moving on with our lives, and we wanted to share that with our fans, the folks that have followed us for years.”
The remarks struck many as insensitive and tone deaf, as intentionally or not, John-David seems to be brushing the scandals aside and down-playing the severity of his brother’s crimes.
Host Robin Roberts no doubt spoke for many viewers when she referenced the family’s history of dishonesty and past efforts to “sweep this under the rug.”
GMA confirmed that Josh is home from rehab after being treated for sex addiction, but will not appear in the new series.
