The Duggars have survived just about every sort of PR nightmare imaginable, but in recent weeks, Derick Dillard has proven so problematic that many have wondered if he’ll be the one to bring an end to the family’s wildly lucrative media empire.
Derick has attracted so much negative attention to his in-laws that he’s been dubbed “the next Josh Duggar,” and it seems he has no interest in reforming anytime soon.
The latest uproar surrounding Derick and his wife, Jill Duggar, has raised questions about the sincerity of the Duggars’ values and religious convictions, both key components of the wholesome image they’ve worked so hard to create.
The issue has to do with Jill and Derick’s missionary work in Central America.
As you may have heard, Jill and Derick are not licensed missionaries, which means not only have they not received proper training for the jobs they undertook, they also receive no sponsorship from any religious organization.
As a result, the Dillards took it upon themselves to raise money by soliciting donations from fans.
Jill comes from a wealthy family, and the Dillards have plenty of time and money to seek the training they would need for church sponsorship, so fans quite understandably took issue with the requests for cash.
So earlier this month (probably after being prompted by patriarch Jim Bob Duggar), Jill and Derick promised to stop asking for money.
Of course, asking strangers for money online is easy and getting a job is hard, so they lasted about three weeks.
Earlier this week, Derick announced that he would be raising funds in order to pay for a ministry education program offered by his church.
He asked fans to donate, with the goal of raising several thousand dollars for his tuition.
Not surprisingly, fans weren’t having it, and Derick raised a scant $ 125 before abandoning the mission completely.
“This Fundraiser has ended and is no longer accepting funding,” reads a message on Derick’s Pure Charity page.
Of course, shutting down the fundraising page hasn’t been enough to placate fans who feel they’ve been deceived by the Duggars.
Many have taken to the family’s Facebook page to remind them that instead of asking for money for themselves, they should raising funds to help with the relief effort following Hurricane Harvey.
“Ya need to go help Houston,” wrote one fan.
“I would like to see your family help out in Houston during this time,” commented another.
The Duggars have yet to respond to the requests for aid.
Sending Jill and Derick to Houston to assist in the relief effort would do wonders for the family’s public image.
But it would also require real work and sacrifice, so don’t expect it to happen any time soon.
