We knew Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar were part of some shady dealings, but hearing Jill Duggar’s account regarding how much money they allegedly withheld from them is damning.
The former 19 Kids and Counting star has been on a revelation journey these past few months. After the release of Amazon’s Shiny Happy People documentary, it pulled the curtain back on the Duggar family and exposed the truth — that they had a dynasty laced with scandals like you’d never believe.
Not only did they attempt to cover up their eldest son’s sexual abuse, but the latest allegations claiming they didn’t pay their children for a decade’s worth of filming is outrageous. In her latest memoir, Counting the Cost, Jill wrote about how asking for money at first didn’t cross her mind.
“I think I was so conditioned to this belief that we were benefitting from it, from going on this trip or that trip or whatever,” she told People. “It was like, well we can buy frozen pizzas instead of beans and rice now because [TLC] is covering these things. It was literally so ingrained in me to be grateful.”
You’ll never believe how much Jill made for 10 years’ worth of filming
After learning more about the Duggar parents in the family documentary, it makes sense why the 19 children never considered asking to be paid for their time.
“I was talking to a friend about not being paid, and I was like, ‘Well, I mean, they did cover grocery trips…’ And they’re like, ‘Are you kidding me?’ They were like, ‘No that’s not normal. That’s not paying you.’ But I still, it’s so ingrained in me to always focus on the positive.”
The Amazon documentary and this interview reveal that Jim Bob handled all of the finances and contracts for their TLC show. Once Jill had a chance to review the initial 2014 contracts, she learned her father pocketed nearly $8 million for 10 years’ worth of filming. How much did the kids see? ZERO.
However, he offered each of his grown children a payout of $80K but eventually paid them $175K after some hired personal lawyers.
The more that comes out about this family, the sadder the story gets. And if we’ve learned anything about reality TV stars over the last few years, where there’s smoke, there’s fire.
TELL US – ARE YOU SURPRISED TO HEAR HOW MUCH THE FAMILY MADE OVER THEIR YEARS OF FILMING? ARE YOU SAD TO HEAR THE MINOR CHILDREN HAVE RECEIVED NONE?
