'19 Kids and Counting' crew member reveals Michelle Duggar, and not patriarch Jim Bob, is 'in charge' of family
TONTITOWN, ARKANSAS: A '19 Kids and Counting' crew member has opened up about working with the Duggars as the TLC show was filmed. The unnamed insider, who said his on-set interactions with the family was "pretty positive" overall, revealed among other information that it's Michelle Duggar who mostly runs the family, and not patriarch Jim Bob.
The source claimed that the parents were very hospitable while dealing with the crew members. "They they fed us, they always made sure that we felt comfortable around the house. They made sure that their kids weren't bothering us, and they made sure their kids were really polite to us … If at any time we weren't comfortable with anything, they checked with us and made sure that we were taken care of," he said, adding, "I feel the family's intentions were always really positive," according to Daily Mail.
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'Michelle is actually in charge of the situation'
The crew member pointed out that although the docuseries paints 57-year-old Bob as a family patriarch, this was not the case. 56-year-old Michelle, he said, called the shots. "This is the weird thing … Michelle is actually in charge of the situation," the source said. "She's actually running the family. Even though it's like a patriarchal family [structure]."
"If you spend enough time with the family, you realize Michelle is actually making a lot of decisions," he said, adding, "Jim Bob is a little bit goofy, and Michelle is the one who's kind of making sure things are actually functional."
The source said that "respecting other people is a central theme for them. They're not dissing other cultures on camera, or even in-person." He added that what they "lean away from is, a lot of times, anything that has to do with sex, or anything that has to do with religion. Like if they go to a country and they're worshipping a different deity, they want to make sure they're not participating in that."
'I see Josh Duggar as like almost a separate entity'
On December 9, 2021, Josh Duggar was found guilty on both charges of receiving and possessing pornographic material that depicted the sexual abuse of children. A jury of twelve, comprising six men and six women, delivered the verdict following seven hours of deliberations. He was sentenced to 12-and-a-half years in prison.
The source has now stressed that Josh is not representative of the other children in the Duggar family. "I think the family was trying to educate him to make him better, but I think Josh just has his own demons he has to deal with," the source said.
"I see Josh Duggar as like almost a separate entity … his younger brothers and everyone else are, they're great. They're all nice guys. They're respectful. Of course, they have their teachings that I don't agree with at all, but in terms of just not being a sexual predator … they're not that," he continued. "Josh shouldn't taint the rest of the boys in his behavior of being a sexual predator for the rest of the family."