Jill Duggar & Derick Dillard: Will They Ever Be Allowed to Adopt?!

In recent weeks, Derick Dillard has made waves and angered both his famous in-laws and his former bosses.

As a result, Derick was fired by TLC after harshly criticizing transgender teen Jazz Jennings on Twitter.

The reaction against his unprovoked bullying campaign has been swift and harsh, but now it looks as though Derick mght not be through suffering the consequences of his foolish remarks.

As fans are no doubt aware, Derick and Jill Duggar have talked about adoption on several occasions.

Obviously, the couple has kept busy making biological children in recent years, but they seem to believe that the adoption option remains open to them should they ever decide to take advantage of it.

However, should they ever initiate the process, they may learn that that’s simply not the case.

As In Touch Weekly points out Jill and Derick may have hurt their chances for adoption with their recent conduct.

Adoption agencies–particularly international agencies, of the sort in which Jill and Derick have expressed interest–often factor in the social media activity and political and religious views of prospective parents when making their decisions.

Jill has not publicly espoused Derick’s transphobic views, but she has stated that she fully supports her husband in all matters.

That loyalty could work to her detriment if she and Derick ever decide to adopt.

Of course, thus far, several Duggars have spoken at length about adoption, but none has actually initiated the process.

Fans have expressed annoyance with those circumstances, arguing that it’s beginning to look as though the famiy simply enjoys the adulation they receive from fans when they talk about adoption, but would never actually take an adopted child into their home.

Jill and some of her sisters have also discussed the idea of becoming foster parents, but that seems even less likely.

Agencies that match foster children with families often have strict rules with regard to disciplinary practices and the sort of beliefs that foster parents are permitted to instill in their charges.

And it seems unlikely that the Duggars would be willing to comply with by which all foster families must comply.

“Because of the trauma these children have endured, the agency does not allow corporal punishment,” reads a page on the Foster Family Home Inquiry website.

“Foster parents will need to recognize the religious beliefs of the foster child and support them in exercising their religious beliefs.”

The Duggars would likely be unwilling to accept a situation in which they were unable to use corporal punishment (the family’s fondness for “blanket training” has been well-documented) or impart their own unorthodox beliefs to children living under their foor.

Ironically, all the talk of adoption and fostering that was supposed to highlight the Duggars’ benevolent side is bringing all their most controversial ideas and practices to the forefront.

Watch Counting On online for more on reality TV’s most controversial family.

View Slideshow: Derick Dillard Labels Transgender Movement as Form of Child Abuse

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Derick Dillard: My Kids Don"t Need Picture Books, They Need Jesus!

As we all know, Derick Dillard considers allowing trans kids to be themselves is “child abuse.” But have you wondered what he thinks good parenting looks like?

Apparently, he thinks that it looks like two incredibly bored children.

At least, Derick decided to read to his two very young sons the story of Jesus’ birth, directly from the Bible. No photos. And fans were quick to comment with their very strong opinions.

Derick Dillard captioned his photoset:

“Christmas Eve, reading the Christmas story with my boys. Doesn’t get much better than that! Thank you Jesus!”

For some families, that’s a tradition. For others it isn’t.

Though fans were divided, let’s start with the priase that he earned.

“Beautiful family. God bless you all!”

That’s sweet.

“You are such a great dad, Derick! Merry Christmas to you and your beautiful family.”

We don’t know that a “great dad” would go on social media and repeatedly slam a teenage girl because he disagrees with her identity, but … well, he’s been fired for that.

“I’m not really a religious person. most normal everyday average people I know DO read the Christmas story out of the Bible on Christmas to their children and some not even really religious people do also.”

Interestingly, I’d personally never heard of that tradition, but I believe that plenty of folks do it.

“There is nothing abnormal,” that commenter continued. “About this and how they read the Christmas story Christmas Eve.”

That same commenter continued:

“I am sure the Duggars have children’s books as well but to come to someone’s page and tell them how to raise their children — takes much gall. Wow”

Another saw criticism of Derick and lashed out:

“Remember, you’re commenting with very sick, wicked souls! These people hate God, His Son Jesus Christ and God’s word. They’re just here to tear down anything Christian!”

That is the sort of paranoia that you see sometimes. If you believe that a critique of one man is an attack against an entire faith, you … probably need to relax.

Another affirmed that they thought that reading directly from the Bible is what they prefer:

“Some of us believe that straight from the Bible is best. Not watered down versions of the Christmas story. Some children’s bible books are excellent don’t get me wrong, however reading straight from Gods word every Christmas is an amazing tradition.”

Others chimed in, suggesting that reading directly from the Bible isn’t ideal with young children, especially when one of the listeners is a literal baby.

“Kids like kid’s books, not old fashioned text. fine if you want to read them the nativity story but at least do it in a format that they understand. kids like pictures.”

Children do enjoy picture books. Especially when they’re still learning words. (Again, Samuel is a literal baby)

“The whole situation is very creepy.”

That comment, we imagine, has less to do with the reading and more to do with Derick using it as a photo op.

“I bet these kids would appreciate having a dad who cares enough about them to get off his lazy butt and get a.job so he can support them as opposed to grifting clueless fans to support them.”

That, of course, is a jab at how Derick Dillard begs fans for cash. Especially now that he’s lost his spot on Counting On.

Another commenter chimed in:

“They aren’t in harm way they grift in Arkansas”

Others took issue with Derick Dillard’s parenting.

“Aww! It looked like Izzy was going to hug little Sam before his daddy pulled him away to make him listen to something he can’t fully understand yet.”

Israel and Samuel were clearly more interested in each other (awww!) than in listening to their father read.

“Why aren’t you acknowledging little Sam? Your arm isn’t even around him. At least Izzy and Jill love that sweet baby.”

Derick seemed invested in his little photo op.

“There are so many wonderful children’s books targeted to their ages, which would include pictures and be ever so much more appropriate for these two.”

If you’re going to do an activity with your children, it should be tailored to your children.

To their interests and their capabilities.

Even a baby as young as Samuel can look at a picture book, and maybe understand a few more words in the process.

Still, it seems like a harmless tradition, and some people — on both sides — got super worked up about it.

Maybe it’s because Derick Dillard himself is such a divisive figure? In which case, we’d question why he doesn’t lay low on social media for a while.

But then we remember that he likes to beg for money and then use those donated funds to go out to dinner.

View Slideshow: Derick Dillard Firing Prompts Applause, Outrage: Read the Responses!

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Jill Duggar and Derick Dillard SLAMMED for Remarks About Muslims!

The Dillards have gone and done it again!

And by “it,” of course we mean make offensive, horrific statements like it’s totally normal and not at all a problem.

It’s like they’re making a career out of being awful, which is convenient, considering that Derick caused the family their sweet, sweet reality show gig with his bizarre habit of making bigoted remarks about a teenage girl.

In addition to Derick’s continued harassment of Jazz Jennings, he’s been making hateful comments about the transgender community in general.

He’s also still begging Duggar fans for money, and then there’s more general weirdness, like the way he tried to announce that he hadn’t been fired from Counting On a month after the news broke that he had in fact been fired.

It’s all bad. Very bad.

And with this new update he and Jill shared on their blog … well, they’re not making things better.

The blog was a little update on their family, just in time for Christmas.

They opened things up with “We have had the privilege over the last few months to have many interactions with international students and their families!”

If you’re familiar with these people, you can probably tell where this is going already.

They wrote that they helped their church organize a “Thanksgiving dinner in an American home” event where different families welcomed a student from the University of Arkansas into their homes — the students were from “mostly Muslim families.”

“One of the Ph.D students from an Arab country brought her husband and child,” they recounted. “Her husband seems very open to the gospel and even said if they were going to be in the area he would’ve loved to visit our church!’

“We are praying for him as Derick and others continue to befriend him that God will save his soul.”

But Derick isn’t the only one working on converting the Muslim masses — “Jill and the boys have been able to be part of a weekly Arab ladies English class, with Muslim ladies from several different countries.”

“Every week the ladies meet at a friend’s home where they learn to make an American dish, eat together, then read a Bible story and discuss the English language.”

Sounds super.

Their adventures aren’t over yet though — they also wrote that while shopping on Black Friday, they “saw a couple ladies wearing burkas, so Jill stopped to ask them where they were from and invited them to the Bible study.”

“They came that week, and one of the ladies brought some traditional tea and treats to share. When asked if they had ever read a story from the Bible, both ladies said they had not.”

“We are praying that they will return to more Bible studies.”

As always, Jill promoted the blog post on her Instagram, and judging by the comments, the post was not well received.

“Wonderful,” one person commented. “I’m sure you’ve welcomed your new Muslim friends to share the Quran with you.”

“That comment about the Muslim families seems like more of a ‘look we are accepting people please donate‘ comment than a comment about loving everyone and accepting people from different faiths,” another speculated.

“People don’t need to be saved,” a commenter explained, “they need their beliefs to be respected. Approaching people while they are living their daily lives to try to convert them is deeply wrong.”

“Respect is a two way thing, Jill, and asking someone who is wearing a burka about the Bible is not respect and showing understanding, it’s moral imperialism.”

Someone called it “disgusting” that they “can’t just do a nice thing for people,” they “have to use it as an opportunity to convert them,” and another person told them “No one needs to be ‘saved’ but you two.”

And those are all very, very valid points.

View Slideshow: Derick Dillard Firing Prompts Applause, Outrage: Read the Responses!

How about this: in 2018, why don’t we just promise to do a little better, OK, Dillards? Just a little bit?

It would be hard to do any worse, that’s for sure.

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Derick Dillard Lashes Out at Fans: I QUIT Counting On & So Did My Wife!

The rapid unraveling of Derick Dillard continued yesterday, as Jill Duggar’s husband posted a series of irate tweets, in which he  explained that parting ways with TLC was his decision, not the network’s.

It was previously reported that Derick had been fired from Counting On due to his controversial comments toward transgender teen and fellow TLC reality star Jazz Jennings.

Now, Dillard says he was not fired, but in fact quit the show due to differences of opinion.

“Unbelievable what’s considered newsworthy these days, but then again this is how I heard I was ‘fired,’” Dillard wrote in response to a Fox News tweet about his firing.

“For the record, I was never fired. I just felt it was best for my family to cut ties months ago, as we are heading in a different direction.”

Derick went on to claim that he “never worked” for TLC, which seems to be his way of saying that he was never under contract with the network.

“Yes, I’m no longer doing [the show], but nowhere did they say that I was fired,” Derick wrote. “Big difference. You can’t be fired from somewhere you never worked.”

“That’s what’s so funny. I was fake fired from my fake job,” he added.

“PR must be their justification. See it is funny, you’re laughing too lol.”

Despite his claim that he left the network by choice and was never really employed there, Derick clearly feels some bitterness toward TLC.

It’s not the first time Dillard has claimed that he quit, but it is the first time that he revealed his wife, Jill, will no longer be appearing on Counting On.

When a fan asked Derick, “So you guys aren’t on the show anymore?” the 28-year-old former accountant quickly replied, “Correct.”

So it seems viewers may have seen the last of fan favorite Jill.

Naturally, the revelation that the Dillards will be stepping away from the spotlight has further fueled rumors that Derick was caught cheating on Jill, but it seems unlikely that we’ll ever receive any sort of confirmation on that.

The fact that she’ll no longer be appearing on television may help explain some recent changes in Jill’s appearance.

Jill’s been sporting a nose piercing, henna tattoos, and other non-Duggar-approved fashion statements.

Perhaps life away from the glare of the spotlight offers some advantages, after all.

Watch Counting On online for more from Jill and Derick’s controversial marriage.

View Slideshow: Derick Dillard Firing Prompts Applause, Outrage: Read the Responses!

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Jill Duggar & Derick Dillard: Are They Headed For DIVORCE?!

For several months now, we’ve been hearing rumors that Derick Dillard is cheating on his wife, Jill Duggar.

Outlandish Duggar rumors are a constant on social media, but this one seemed more legit than most, thanks in part to the fact that at one point, Derick seemed to confess to cheating on Jill.

Apropos of nothing, Der tweeted a bunch of quotes about adultery, and in typical Duggar clan fashion, many of them subtly placed the blame on the wife who’d been cheated on.

This is in keeping with the family’s philosophy on marriage, as Michelle famously warns her daughters that it’s their duty to have sex with their husbands on command.

She also believes that if they’re unwilling to do so, they shouldn’t be surprised when the husband “gets it” elsewhere.

As a mother of two who’s also her family’s sole breadwinner (Derick was fired by TLC last month after tweeting a string of bizarrely transphobic remarks.), Jill might not always feel up to the task of serving as her husband’s personal sex slave.

So if Derick cheated, his infidelity was likely dismissed by his in-laws, and Jill was probably made to feel that she had no choice but to forgive him.

But that doesn’t mean she has to be happy about it…

Many fans feel that the cracks in Jill and Derick’s marital facade are beginning to show in obvious ways.

For one thing, Derick is once again associating with Josh Duggar, the man who molested Jill when she was just a young girl.

Recently, Derick has been requesting donations for further “ministry work” (read: to fund his unemployment), and Josh recently became a major donor.

Not only that, the two have been spotted dining out together, and have reportedly become very close in recent weeks.

As In Touch Weekly points out, users of the Duggar-focused Reddit community are convinced that’s a clear sign of trouble in paradise:

“Jill and Derick have seemed pretty ‘over’ each other since well before Sam’s birth, but Derick seems to really have really gone off the rails lately,” one redditor wrote.

“Between his general awfulness and tweeting a whole lot of Biblical quotes about adultery and recent willing association with Turd [Josh Duggar] (more on that in a moment), I could see him finding some sort [of] twisted justification.”

Many echoed the sentiment, and reading their comments, one’s left with the impression that there’s little doubt Jill and Derick’s marriage is in peril.

“I can’t help but feel awful for all of the married girls. Courtships are soooo short, I don’t feel like they get a chance to really get to know their husbands. And then they are stuck,” wrote one user.

“They’re still in the infatuation stage by the time they’re married and have no idea what their husband is like behind closed doors. I’m sure it works out for some but to me, it just sounds like a recipe for a terrible relationship,” commented another.

Of course, there are those who still believe Derick has been faithful … but they’re also of the opinion that his actions are covering up a deeper family secret:

“Here’s my crazy conspiracy theory that no one else is talking about: I think Josh cheated on Anna again, like, recently, and the family found out,” one redditor remarked.

“I think Derick posted those tweets to condemn his brother-in-law, and I think Josh gave him some money towards his latest grift to try and be like “see we’re family, we’re in each other’s corners, also please shut up.”

There could be something to that theory.

Of course, these are the Duggars we’re talking about, which means the whole situation is currently being swept under the carpet, and we’ll likely never receive any definitive answers.

Watch Counting On online for more on reality TV’s most controversial family.

View Slideshow: Jill Duggar and Derick Dillard Photos

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Derick Dillard: I Wasn"t Fired from Counting On, I QUIT!

Derick Dillard sure does love being the worst, right?

He’s always been … well, he’s never been that great, but for the past few months, he’s really been trying to be just awful.

For some reason, back in August he decided to publicly attack Jazz Jennings, a teenage girl who also has a show on the TLC network.

He did this because Jazz is transgender, and he felt (and still feels, we’re sure) that he had the ability and the right to announce to the world that being transgender is not a real thing.

“What an oxymoron… a ‘reality’ show which follows a non-reality,” he tweeted. “‘Transgender’ is a myth. Gender is not fluid; it’s ordained by God.”

Or maybe Jazz knows herself better than Derick knows her, could that be possible?

When he started getting some backlash for his dumb remark, he doubled down on his ignorance, writing “I want to be clear. I have nothing against him. I only have issues with the words and definitions being propagated here.”

Except Jazz isn’t a “him,” she’s a “her,” and if he really wanted to take issue with “words and definitions,” perhaps he shouldn’t have called a sweet girl he doesn’t even know “a non-reality.”

A few days after that, Derick seemed to reference the situation yet again, tweeting “It seems the truth is relative these days. So glad my God is the same yesterday, today, and forever! His word is always perfect! #Hebrews13.”

Ugh.

Since then, he’s been retweeting transphobic quotes, he’s been supporting a boycott of Target because of their policy of letting transgender people use the correct bathrooms.

And last month, he went after Jazz AGAIN, tweeting “I pity Jazz, 4 those who take advantage of him in order 2 promote their agenda, including the parents who allow these kinds of decisions to be made by a child.”

“It’s sad that ppl would use a juvenile this way. Again, nothing against him, just unfortunate what’s on tv these days.”

His obsession with Jazz is so bizarre, and given that she is a child, it’s extra inappropriate.

And considering the fact that she’s a child who also happens to technically be a co-worker of his?

It’s no wonder TLC kicked him to the curb.

Shortly after that last tirade against Jazz, TLC tweeted from their official account that “We want to let our viewers know that Derick Dillard has not participated in Counting On for months. The network has no plans to feature him in the future.”

“We want to reiterate that Derick’s personal statements do not reflect the views of the network. TLC is proud to share the story of Jazz Jennings and her family and will continue to do so.”

So that seems pretty clear, right? TLC obviously didn’t appreciate Derick’s words, and so the Dillards are gone from our televisions.

And not a moment too soon!

A few days after that, Derick addressed the issue, again on Twitter. He wrote “Thank you to all those who have supported us and given us so many words of encouragement recently. God bless you all!”

But this weekend, he’s been sharing bit of a different view.

For some reason, he decided to tweet a link to a story that was published last month — one about his firing.

“Unbelievable what’s considered newsworthy these days, but then again, this is how I first heard that I was ‘fired,"” he wrote.

“For the record, I was never fired. I just felt it best for my family to cut ties months ago, as we are heading in a different direction.”

Oh, OK. Sure.

Someone replied, mocking him for thinking that people would actually believe that he quit the show that surely paid him a nice salary for doing next to nothing.

“Think again,” Derick responded. “I only left my accounting job because I was offered a missions job with SOS. And yes, we were commissioned missionaries, endorsed by our church.”

“Please be careful where you get your information. There’s a lot of garbage out there, that has no fiber of truth.”

Is he trying to say that TLC didn’t pay him for appearing on Counting On? That he’s been living as a humble missionary all these years, just getting by with his church’s endorsement?

View Slideshow: Derick Dillard Firing Prompts Applause, Outrage: Read the Responses!

Not even a word of thanks towards all those poor fans who have donated money to him?

We’d ask this guy to get it together, but let’s be real, there’s really no hope left for that, is there?

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Derick Dillard ROASTED by Fans Over New Haircut, Awful Diet!

We’ve seen Derick Dillard with long hair and with short hair. While TLC has fired Derick for his transphobic tweets against Jazz Jennings, fans can still see his haircut mishaps on social media.

And his latest haircut, though neither his longest or his shortest, might be his worst ever. Fans are roasting him over it, left and right.

We don’t want to go so far as to say that the haircut is a divine punishment, but Derick Dillard’s disastrous ‘do might be a natural consequence of the awful things that he says.

At the risk of perpetuating stereotypes … if you’re super anti-LGBT+ and you’re also not the sort of person who associates with many women outside of your family, your hairstyling might suffer.

Maybe that’s not a priority for Derick Dillard?

But though there are absolutely heterosexual men who are hairstylists, in addition to plenty of straight male barbers (I’m not clear on how barbers are different from hair stylists and at this point in life I’m too afraid to ask) …

… We almost wonder if homophobia and some nervousness about women is behind the fact that Jill always cuts Derick’s hair.

Plenty of people cut their own hair or their partner’s hair, but they’re being frugal.

As we saw when Jill and Derick shared those tone-deaf date night photos, the Dillards are not shy about spending money that many believe may have come from their dubious fundraising.

So it may be that Derick is afraid that going into a salon and letting a woman who isn’t his wife (some vile temptress!) or perhaps even a gay man cut his hair would test either his marriage or his faith.

But, you know what?

We should also consider that Derick Dillard’s bigotry isn’t necessarily behind his weird haircuts.

Maybe he just likes letting Jill cut his hair, no matter how it makes him look.

Because, for all of Derick’s many, many flaws, he loves his wife and it’s something that they can do together.

Again, this is just our speculation, but that’s almost sweet.

Speaking of sweet, the “best” (worst) photo of Derick’s new hair comes with him eating cookie dough (the best way to eat cookies) in a snap that Jill shared to Instagram.

Jill wrote the caption:

“My sweet hubby @derickdillard #livingontheedge eating some raw #cookiedough #lol”

And here’s the photo:

His hair.

If you think that we’re overreacting to this 1970s-era horror-show and merely assuming that fans had the same response, think again.

Commenters wrote:

“I’m sorry, but everything about this photo is creepy.”

Many thought that he looked like a creepy uncle from decades past.

“I like this family but this guy looks like someone on the 70’s show.”

That’s a reference to That ’70s Show, and they’re not wrong.

(Note, the emover that was so very fashionable around 2007 is not the same — it had much more body and gave a more sculpted, sleeker look)

“Ahahaaaaaaaa! Cuz he is a SLOB!!!”

That last comment was less about Derick Dillard’s haircut, we think, and more about his recent eating habits.

Remember how Derick Dillard came back from his controversial mission trip, looking as gaunt as Jesus is sometimes depicted?

Fans were worried.

Now, he seems to be snacking on junk food exclusively. We all like junk food, but things like his corndog-and-twinkie “midnight snack” have fans feeling alarmed.

Catastrophic weight loss followed by binging on junk food can be worse than just binging on junk food alone. We’re not shaming Derick Dillard for his eating habits (heck, I don’t even shame Trump for his eating habits), just confirming that his concerned fans have some validity.

As you can imagine, the fan responses to the photo of Derick have now broken down to debates over Derick Dillard’s transphobic tweets against Jazz Jennings and the trans community.

Those calling out Derick for his bigoted stances are themselves being accused of “bullying” by Derick’s defenders.

While posting comments teasing Derick over his hair sounds like classic bullying — it is, ultimately, his choice, we don’t see how pointing out that Derick’s recent controversial statements are bigoted is bullying.

Because his statements about trans kids and about trans teen Jazz Jennings have been … well, inflammatory.

View Slideshow: Derick Dillard Labels Transgender Movement as Form of Child Abuse

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Derick Dillard Just Went After Transgender People Again

Now that he"s been fired from TLC, Derick Dillard has a lot of free time on his hands.

And the controversial reality star is using said free time to do what got him fired in the first place:

Heartlessly attack transgender individuals at every opportunity.

Yes, just as Dillard went after Jazz Jennings in a series of bigoted Tweets, the former Counting On cast member has once again set his sights on the LGBT community.

Scroll down to see the latest shot Derick fired; to read the reaction to his harsh insult; and to relive Dillard"s ugly history when it comes to this topic…

1. The Latest Incident Started with a Video:

Earlier this week, Dillard shared footage on his Facebook page of transgender singer Laura Jane Grace teaching kids about gender identity.

2. This is a Screen Shot of the Shared Footage:

You can see Dillard’s caption: “A friend shared this and called it out for what it is, child abuse! How unfortunate what children are subjected to in the name of progressive understanding.”

3. Facebook Followers Thankfully Clapped Back

HARD. As you can see here, a couple even referenced Josh Duggar in citing what actual “child abuse” means.

4. More Backlash:

These responses do make us wonder why these people were “Friends” with Derick to begin with. But at least they aren’t holding back.

5. Derick Does Have His Supporters, Of Course

Try telling a teenager struggling everyday about who he or she is that this is just a “disagreement” and everyone is entitled to an opinion. Sheesh, people.

6. There’s a History Here

In August of 2017, Dillard attacked Jazz Jennings, a 17-year old transgender individual who has a show on TLC.

View Slideshow
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Derick Dillard Breaks Silence on TLC Firing

Derick Dillard has something to say about his firing from TLC.

Last week, the now-former Counting On star learned that the cable network wanted no part of him, not after Dillard used multiple Tweets to slam Jazz Jennings.

Jennings is the 17-year anchor of I Am Jazz, a series that chronicles her life as a transgender teenager.

As a supposedly dedicated and devout Christian, Dillard doesn’t support such a lifestyle… and he’s been vocal about this stance on social media.

“I pity Jazz,” Dillard recently Tweeted on the topic, adding:

“4 those who take advantage of him in order 2 promote their agenda, including the parents who allow these kinds of decisions 2 be made by a child.”

This was not Derick’s first time going after Jennings, either.

“What an oxymoron… a ‘reality’ show which follows a non-reality,” Dillard, unprompted by anything Jazz did or said, wrote in August.

‘Transgender’ is a myth. Gender is not fluid; it’s ordained by God.

In response to one of the faces of Counting On going after another face of its network, TLC released the following statement on November 12:

We want to let our viewers know that Derick Dillard has not participated in Counting On for months.

The network has no plans to feature him in the future.

We want to reiterate that Derick’s personal statements do not reflect the views of the network.

TLC is proud to share the story of Jazz Jennings and her family and will continue to do so.

So that was that.

Following weeks of chatter that TLC was done with Dillard, executives made it official.

And sides were subsequently taken on Twitter:

View Slideshow: Derick Dillard Firing Prompts Applause, Outrage: Read the Responses!

Now, several days later, Dillard has broken his silence over his official ousting.

“Thank you to all those who have supported us and given us so many words of encouragement recently. God bless you all!”

He also Tweeted a proverb yesterday:

“A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. (Proverbs 17:22)”

So it sounds like Dillard is refusing to let TLC’s decision, along with its public upbraiding, bring him down.

He’s quoting the bible and also another controversial reality show star to get him through this difficult time.

You remember what Duck Dynasty’s Phil Robertson once said, don’t you?

Derick apparently lives by these contradictory words; that you can find someone’s lifestyle to be sinful, yet somehow also claim you have nothing against the person living in this manner.

Members of Dillard’s own family don’t exactly agree, however.

“You might not agree with someone or their lifestyle but you SHOULD be compassionate and show God’s love regardless to everyone,” Amy Duggar Tweeted a couple days ago.

It was clear just what – or who, we should say – she was referencing with this message.

To her credit, it should be noted, Jennings hasn’t even said anything this combative in the wake of the Derick Dillard scandal.

“In the face of constant ignorance and hatred I prefer to disregard negative opinions and continue moving forward with love,” she wrote shortly after Derick’s latest insult.

Dillard could learn a lot about the person he thinks is an affront to God.

View Slideshow: Duggar Family Members: The Official Power Rankings!

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Amy Duggar Slams Derick Dillard: Try Being a Nice Person!

Amy Duggar is urging her online followers – and Jill Duggar’s husband Derick Dillard – to extend love and compassion instead of hate.

What a novel concept, we know. Jarring.

The Marriage Boot Camp: Reality Stars cast member and niece of Jim Bob Duggar took to Twitter to share an uplifting message:

“You might not agree with someone or their lifestyle but you SHOULD be compassionate and show God’s love regardless to everyone.”

There’s no doubt what sparked this.

Amy’s tweet comes a week after Derick Dillard was fired by TLC following a second, unprompted attack on fellow network star Jazz Jennings.

Derick, the husband of Amy’s cousin Jill, has some serious problems with 17-year-old Jazz, the transgender star of I Am Jazz on TLC.

Dillard got into it with Twitter user @_mastercthulhu, saying, “I pity Jazz 4 those who take advantage of him in order 2 promote their agenda.”

That includes “the parents who allow these kinds of decisions 2 be made by a child … It’s sad that ppl would use a juvenile this way.”

“Jazz is being taken advantage of, as part of a larger agenda. I really have nothing against the kid and wish him all the best in life,” he adds.

“I just hate seeing him used this way.”

Note the inaccurate pronouns as part of Dillard’s attack on Jazz Jennings, which came out of nowhere and wasn’t even the first of its kind.

Derick’s outspoken and controversial quotes along these lines had already been causing friction between the Duggars and the network.

That tension has now boiled over.

After Amy’s message, Der’s Twitter adversary @_mastercthulhu applauded her for being respectful to others, responding:

“This is what I was trying to say to Derick. It’s okay that you don’t agree with the trans community, that’s your opinion and that’s fine.”

“But you can’t bully and be mean to others this is coming from an atheist! I’m glad you understand what it means to be a good Christian, Amy.”

“I have friends that are gay and I still love them as a person,” Amy replied to her new Twitter supporter. “Thank you for following.”

Following his initial criticism of I Am Jazz, a reality show which he called an “oxymoron” based on the transgender “myth,” Derick wrote:

“No one – women, men, children or transgender persons – should be subjected to any form of exploitation or targeted for discrimination.”

“Transsexual and transgendered persons are entitled to the same human and civil rights as others.”

“Recognizing these rights, however, does not mean that we must accept that hormones and surgery transform men into women and women into men.”

“Or,” he added, “that persons who self-identify as members of the opposite sex, are what they subjectively claim to be.” 

“What an oxymoron. A ‘reality’ show which follows a non-reality. ‘Transgender’ is a myth. Gender is not fluid. It’s ordained by God.”

Obviously, this set off a firestorm.

Some of Dillard’s fans lauded these comments, but his network bosses were far from impressed. TLC released a statement:

“We want to let our viewers know that Derick Dillard has not participated in Counting On for months and the network has no plans to feature him in the future.”

“We want to reiterate that Derick’s personal statements do not reflect the views of the network,” the statement said in no uncertain terms.

It concluded, referencing his target: “TLC is proud to share the story of Jazz Jennings and her family and will continue to do so.”

A low-key firing, but pretty direct nonetheless; Jill may be fired from Counting On as well, apparently, based on these comments.

Jazz herself responded indirectly to the controversy, not naming Derick specifically but clearly referring to him when she wrote:

“In the face of constant ignorance and hatred I prefer to disregard negative opinions and continue moving forward with love.”

Sounds like a message Amy Duggar would embrace.

View Slideshow: Duggar Family Members: The Official Power Rankings!

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Jill Duggar: FIRED From Counting On Alongside Derick Dillard?!

If you’re a fan of the Duggar family, then you’ve probably already heard the news that Derick Dillard has been fired by TLC for his relentless harassment of Jazz Jennings, a transgender teen also employed by the network.

Sources have claimed that the Duggars are “outraged” over Derick’s termination, but not for the reasons one might think.

While Jim Bob and company reportedly agree with Derick’s transphobic stance, they’re said to be incensed that the father of two brought another scandal down on their heads by expressing his views so publicly and persistently.

Yes, it seems Derick’s famous in-laws are concerned not with his bullying of a teenage girl, but with the ways that it might affect their ailing media empire.

Currently, the family is facing a familiar problem:

How to continue creating the impression that their reality show is an unfiltered slice-of-life, while at the same time avoiding any mention of the latest relative to bring disgrace to the family name?

It’s the same position the Duggars found themselves in following the revelation that Josh Duggar molested five young girls.

Except this time, they’re facing the additional challenge of continuing to incorporate Jill Duggar, while at the same time editing the show in such a way as to make viewers forget about the father of her children.

The situation has led some fans to wonder if Jill will be axed from the show alongside Derick.

Our prediction? Probably not.

Yes, it will be difficult to come up with Jill storylines that don’t make the absence of Derick all the more glaring, but the Counting On crew has proven in the past that they’re up to the task of working around significant challenges.

The Duggars certainly aren’t lacking in on-air “talent,” but Jill is one of a handful of Jim Bob and Michelle’s children that the show can’t do without.

There’s a reason the show was originally titled Jill and Jessa: Counting On.

The sisters and their children served as representatives of the family’s future at a time when producers very much wanted viewers to forget the past.

Audiences watched Jill and Jessa grow up and for many, seeing them start families of their own was no doubt an intensely gratifying experience.

So the show will go on without Derick–but without Jill, many fans would no doubt begin to feel that the Duggar clan has been whittled down by scandal to the point that it’s no longer recognizable.

Watch Counting On online for more on reality TV’s most controversial family.

View Slideshow: Derick Dillard Firing Prompts Applause, Outrage: Read the Responses!

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Duggar Family: "Outraged" Over Derick Dillard Firing?

Earlier this week, we learned that Derick Dillard had been fired by TLC due to his continued harassment of transgender teen Jazz Jennings.

For most, the only thing surprising about the situation is that it took the network that long to give Jill Duggar’s husband the axe.

After all, most employers don’t look kindly on publicly bullying children, and in Derick’s case, the behavior was even more troubling for his bosses, as Jazz is also the star of a TLC reality series.

So for once, a group of powerful men in the entertainment industry made the right decision.

Derick is now unemployed, but don’t waste any tears on the volatile father of two.

He’s been jobless most of his life, and his wife pulls in enough 

(But you might want to dole out some sympathy for the poor souls who are being suckered in by Dillard’s pleas for cash. They could certainly use your pity.)

Anyway, the reaction from the world at large was not one of tremendous shock.

Within the Duggar compound, however, the response has been quite different.

Derick’s famous in-laws are reportedly appalled by his firing and divided on the question of who to blame.

“There’s a lot of outrage between increasingly divided factions,” a source close to the Counting On clan tells Radar Online.

The issue, it seems, is that the Duggars try to maintain a united front at all times, but Jill’s parents and siblings can’t being pissed at Derick for forcing them to deal with yet another scandal.

“Derick is really having a hard time,” says one insider. 

“They are extremely careful to not criticize each other. He wasn’t trying to hurt Jazz. She just conflicted with his belief system and he reacted without thinking it through.”

Jill Duggar is apparently attributing her husband’s insensitivity to the fact that the Dillards have spent much of the past two years living in Central America:

“A lot of times when you live apart from the people you love it takes time to adjust back to your original lifestyle,” the insider says, adding:

“Including family.”

Well, we suppose if you spend enough time in El Selvador, we suppose it’s natural to adopt some of the local customs, such as … hatred of teenage reality stars?

We’re gonna go out on a limb and assume that’s not really a thing.

Watch Counting On online for more from reality TV’s most controversial family.

View Slideshow: Derick Dillard Firing Prompts Applause, Outrage: Read the Responses!

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