Former TLC stars Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar are calling out a new documentary exposing their famous family, alleging the contents of the special are “derogatory and sensationalized.”
Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets (streaming now on Prime Video) aims to expose the stars of TLC’s 19 Kids And Counting after years of headline-making allegations but the documentary is not to be believed, according to a statement released by the Duggars.
“The recent ‘documentary’ that talks about our family is sad because in it we see the media and those with ill intentions hurting people we love. Like other families, ours too has experienced the joys and heartbreaks of life, just in a very public format,” they said in a statement released via their official website. “This ‘documentary’ paints so much and so many in a derogatory and sensationalized way because sadly that’s the direction of entertainment these days.”
“We have always believed that the best chance to repair damaged relationships, or to reconcile differences, is through love in a private setting,” continues the statement. “We love every member of our family and will continue to do all we can to have a good relationship with each one. Through both the triumphs and the trials we have clung to our faith all the more and discovered that through the love and grace of Jesus, we find strength, comfort, and purpose.”
Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets premieres today, Friday, June 2 on Prime Video worldwide, with the four-part series exposing the Duggar family’s many scandals and a controversial religion tied to the family called the Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP).
Reality show history
As longtime TLC fans remember, production on 19 Kids And Counting was suspended back in 2015 after news reports revealed Josh Duggar had sexually assaulted five girls, some of which were his sisters, before filming on the series had started.
The show was resurrected later in 2015 as Counting On, according to a report from Global News, but was later cancelled when Josh was arrested in 2021 for the possession of child sex abuse material. (He was later convicted and is serving more than 12 years in jail.)
Seeing as the documentary is bringing up all of these allegations (and many more), it tracks that the Duggars would follow their typical PR strategy of deny, deny, deny. However, after all these years, unscripted fans are smart.
Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets is now streaming on Prime Video.
