It’s only Monday, but Jill Duggar is already having quite a week on social media.
First, Jill wore a swimsuit in a photo that was posted on her Instagram page.
In order to appreciate why that’s a big deal, you have to understand that Duggar swimwear usually looks like something a silent film star named Myrtle would rock circa 1923.
And here’s Jill wearing a normal 21st-century one-piece like it’s not big deal. Bold, we say!
So that was a rare win for Jill, whose social media posts are usually just an embarrassment for everyone involved.
Unfortunately, the goodwill Jill earned by passive-aggressively standing up to her domineering dad was squandered when she celebrated Father’s Day by heaping praise on her controversial husband, Derick Dillard
As you may know, Derick holds views that are so controversial that they’ve brought him into conflict with even the most conservative (read: bigoted) Duggar fans.
Derick is one of those Trump supporters who stands by the president even when his policies fly in the face of the Christian values Dillard claims to hold so dear.
So fans took issue when Jill posted the awkward screenshot above, along with a link to a lengthy paean to Derick’s compassionate and godliness:
“Thank you for not always taking the easy path, but following God’s leading in our lives,” Jill wrote on the Dillards’ personal website.
“Thank you for being our protector, both physically and spiritually, as you seek God’s will during your daily devotion time,” she added.
“I see you investing in our children, just like your dad did with you and [Derick’s brother] Dan and it melts my heart!
“He taught you what it means to be a Godly man, and I see you reading the Bible and teaching our children how to pray,” Jill concluded.
Fans were quick to take issue with those sentiments, with many pointing out that Derick has expressed support for the policy of separating children from their families at the US border.
“Just curious why this has to be made public. Can’t you express your gratitude personally?” wrote one follower, adding:
“Think of ALL the children being held in a detention center, separated from their parents. Is that loving? Is it Godly? NOPE!”
Another stated simply, “Any man can be a father but not every man is a dad.”
To her credit, Jill has distanced herself from some of Derick’s most deplorable views, but many fans (and former fans) believe that’s not nearly enough.
“To disagree doesn’t = hate, or judgement … Love doesn’t always = approval,” she once wrote on Instagram, seemingly in reference to Derick.
“Just because I disagree with my child on something doesn’t mean I hate him, and just because I love and forgive him doesn’t mean I approve of everything he does. You can be friends with, love and care for people you don’t agree with 100%.”
In a society that’s as patriarchal as the Duggars’, it took guts for Jill to even imply that she doesn’t always agree with her husband.
But it’s not hard to see why so many feel that she needs to be doing much, much more.
Watch Counting On online for more from reality TV’s most controversial family.
