Amy Duggar Hints at Jim Bob’s Likely Reaction to Joseph Duggar’s Arrest
Amy Duggar King says she can all but guarantee Jim Bob Duggar rushed to call a family meeting when news broke that his son Joseph was arrested, sharing her take on TikTok March 27.
Another week, another Duggar headline. This time it is Amy Duggar King weighing in on TikTok about how she thinks her uncle Jim Bob is handling the fallout from Joseph Duggar's arrest — and then Kendra Duggar getting arrested two days later, which obviously blew up everyone's first reactions.
What Amy says Jim Bob is probably doing behind the scenes
On Friday, March 27, Amy, 39, hopped on TikTok and said she would almost take bets that Jim Bob either called a full-blown family meeting the second the news hit or fired off instructions in the big family group chat. Her take: he would be telling everyone to circle the wagons and project unity, especially online.
"Alright, I’m so sorry that we’re going through this again as a family. What’s most important is that we band together and that we show family loyalty and that we love each other no matter what. And right now, we need to just be closer than ever. Including our social media."
In Amy's version of events, the ask would be: keep posting your regular content — kids, recipes, daily life — but do not mention Joseph. And if a reporter reaches out? Kick it to Jim Bob's team and add nothing extra. Is this Amy doing a bit? Sure. But if you have even a passing knowledge of how the Duggars manage PR, you can probably hear that speech in your head.
Where the case stands right now
- March 18: Joseph Duggar, 31, was arrested on suspicion of lewd and lascivious behavior involving molestation of a victim younger than 12, and lewd and lascivious behavior by a person 18 or older. A 14-year-old girl reported that Joseph molested her during a family vacation in Panama City Beach, Florida, in 2020, when she was 9.
- March 20: Joseph's wife, Kendra Duggar, 27, was arrested and released the same day on a $1,470 bond. Joseph and Kendra are also both facing charges of endangering the welfare of a minor and four counts of second-degree false imprisonment. A Duggar family spokesperson said Kendra's case is a misdemeanor and is totally separate from the Florida allegations.
- March 19 and March 21: After Joseph's arrest, Amy initially posted that she was praying for Kendra and for the couple's kids, and that she wanted justice served to the fullest. Once Kendra was arrested too, she walked that back, telling TMZ on March 21 that it was "a plot twist that no one saw coming" and that her first statement was based on what she knew at the time.
- March 27: Amy posted the TikTok with her speculation about Jim Bob's response and the family's messaging playbook.
Big-picture Duggar context
Joseph is the seventh child of Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar's 19: Josh, Jana, John-David, Jill, Jessa, Jinger, Joseph, Josiah, Joy-Anna, Jedidiah, Jeremiah, Jason, James, Justin, Jackson, Johannah, Jennifer, Jordyn-Grace, and Josie. The clan turned their home life into TV with TLC's 19 Kids and Counting and the spin-off Counting On. Amy also showed up on 19 Kids and Counting back in the day.
Meanwhile, the family's eldest, Josh Duggar, is currently serving a 12-year federal sentence after being convicted in May 2022 for possession of child pornography. So when Amy says "again" in that imagined Jim Bob speech, she is not exaggerating.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). If you or someone you know is experiencing child abuse, call or text Child Help Hotline at 1-800-422-4453.