The Duggar family rift continues… and Amy King has made her position pretty clear.
Amy is a cousin of the 19 Kids and Counting clan. Her mother, Deanna, is the older sister of reality TV patriarch Jim Bob Duggar. She was also featured on the show occasionally, but not being raised in that house seems to have made all the difference. She’s always been a step removed from the famous (and, let’s face it, infamous at this point) family.
When the news first broke of Josh Duggar‘s arrest on charges of downloading and possessing child pornography, Amy spoke out expressing she was still in too much shock for outright condemnation, telling The Sun:
“I spoke with several of my cousins after we heard about the arrest. We’re in shock, but we don’t want to think the worst of someone, you want to think the best. Just thinking about it makes me want to have a glass of wine right now… It breaks my heart. Family is family, and I wish the best for everyone.”
However, it’s been four months, and what’s come out in the meantime has made it clear the feds have a pretty strong case against Josh — with each detail that comes out more disturbing than the last.
Related: Josh Duggar Was Secretly REMOVED From Sex Offender Registry, Claim Legal Docs
What’s worse, inside sources have recently revealed half the Duggar fam have chosen to circle the wagons in support of Josh. In particular, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar are reportedly happy to “sweep things under the rug” because scandal is “bad for business.”
Wow. Those claims are bolstered by the fact the parents apparently helped their eldest son avoid punishment (and importantly, rehabilitation) for his teen transgression of molesting his younger sisters.
It’s in the wake of these reports that Amy posted a pretty telling message on Instagram, in the form of a balloon quote:
“It’s okay to cut off toxic family for your own well being.”
…to which she responded:
“Amen & Amen. It’s not easy, but necessary.”
It’s not hard to decipher which family members she’s talking about in this case. She’s closest with Jill Dillard; as she told ET just last year:
“Jill and I text, not on a daily basis, but we text quite often. And we discuss things.”
That’s pretty telling in itself. Jill has not had the best history with the rest of the family lately either, having come out swinging against Jim Bob for essentially stealing her pay for Counting On. And that was before this whole Josh mess.
It will be inneresting to see who else among the family breaks ranks as more and more details come out in Josh’s eventual trial. Do YOU think the Duggar family will ever recover from this??
[Image via Amy King/Instagram/TLC/YouTube/Washington County Sheriff’s Office.]