Last week, Derick Dillard sparked a tremendous amount of outrage on social media due to his baffling attack on Jazz Jennings, a fellow TLC reality star and transgender teen.
Given his unltra-conservative veiws, Derick’s condemnation of all forms of gender non-conformity is sadly not surprising.
Still, the brutal manner in which the father of two bullied a 16-year-old girl in a public forum left many appalled, including large segments of the Duggars’ fan base.
“What an oxymoron… a ‘reality’ show which follows a non-reality. ‘Transgender’ is a myth. Gender is not fluid; it’s ordained by God,” Derick tweeted.
In response to angry replies from critics, Derick replied, “I have nothing against him,” intentionally using the incorrect pronoun to refer to Jennings, before arguing that “gender is ordained by God.”
Needless to say, execs at TLC are reportedly less than thrilled to be putting out fired surrounding yet another Duggar scandal.
For many, the situation has brought to mind that Josh Duggar sex scandals, which very nearly resulted in the destruction of the Duggar media empire.
It was only when TLC canceled 19 Kids and Counting and promised viewers that Josh would never be fearutred in the family’s second-chance series Counting On that the Duggars were able to begin the slow process of rebuilding.
A source close to production tells The Hollywood Gossip exclusively that there’s widespread fear on set that Derick’s comments will mean the end of Counting On.
“They’re probably not too long for TLC. My feeling is that they’ll probably get axed soon because of this Jazz situation,” says the insider.
“[Derick] opened up a can of worms that he never, ever, ever should’ve cracked a lid on.”
A new season of Counting On premieres on September 11, and given Derick’s contiued attacks on Jazz and the resulting outrage, many believe it will be the show’s last.
It appears, however, that network execs are currently engaged to save the show – by giving Derick the boot.
New promotional materials unveiled this morning corroborate the theory that TLC is eager to distance itself from the latest problematic Duggar.
As you can see, the ad featured Jessa Duggar and Ben Seewald, alongside Jinger Duggar ad Jeremy Vuolo.
Tellingly, Derick Dillard and wife Jill Duggar are nowhere to be seen.
In past seasons, the couple’s storylines focused on their missionary work in Central America.
Now that they’re back home in Arkansas and Derick is proving to be nothing but a PR burden, it seems unlikely that they’ll be featured on the show much … if they’re seen on camera at all.
On top of the Jazz scandal, Jill and Derick have broken away from her family’s beliefs in some very public ways in recent weeks, so the Duggars are unlikely to put up much of a fight if TLC decides to kick them to the curb.
All factors considered, it sounds like the Dillards days of reality TV stardom may have come to an end.
Maybe Derick will luck out and land a job at Josh Duggar’s used car lot.
Watch Counting On online for more from TV’s most controversial family.