The Truth About Oprah and The Duggars

[blisterine]

I posted this in response to the thread All Things Duggar where there was speculation. I see now everyone sees it as bad timing but I was never impressed by Razing Ruth because it seemed off from the beginning. To be honest, I always just skimmed those threads and certainly never sent money.

I am the one who found Emily and introduced FJ to her blog. I am also the one who reported her to CPS. I think that was due to the guilt I felt over Carrie and her dead baby. I had wanted to call the Red Cross to do a well-bring check on her and I never did.

I only posted what I did because I thought it would be of interest to the members. I have not posted it before because I expected this reaction and I had promised not to tell. I don't know if it was a closed set and that's why no audience members have come forward.

I wish I had something to back this up, but all I have is my word that it came from a trusted source. Accept it or not. But don't call me stupid, a liar or accuse me of making it up or having poor judgement. I didn't keep up with Razing Ruth that much and had no idea she was involved in the Oprah situation in any way. I had no idea it was bad timing to post it now.

I do have 28 blogs. Some are updated weekly, some daily, some when I feel like it. It doesn't suck up all my time. It does pay well, when you have traffic from 28 different sources. I have never guided FJ to my blogs and never intend to do so.

Please don't eat your own members.

[ark]

I have known this for years and I kept it to myself because the person who told me worked for Harpo productions and I was sworn to secrecy.

This person lost their job when the Oprah talk show went off the air. I think the time has come to spill the beans. Enough time has passed that no one can trace it back to her.

The Duggars went to Chicago to film an episode that never aired. She asked the hard hitting questions and was rebuffed every time with replies like "we can't answer that", "we don't want to tarnish our image", "to answer that might lead others to stray."

Oprah did offer full college scholarships to all the children, provided they had either an official GED if they were old enough/had progressed enough to pass a GED, and that all the other children go to public school immediately and stay in until graduation. Jim Bob wanted to take the money and use it to get them apprenticeships. Oprah said no. Jim Bob and Michelle refused the conditions placed on her original offer, so the offer was withdrawn.

The only thing that was answered was the fact that Jim Bob blamed Josh for losing the election. Josh was caught practicing Onanism- masturbating. It was also thought that Josh had fornicated with a girl, not the one to which he was he was betrothed. There was a dowry involved, so Jim Bob was probably pissed he missed out on the addition to his bottom line. I kind of wondered at the time why he would tell this and not answer the other questions. But since he threw him dead father under the bus, I don't doubt he threw Josh under the bus instead of taking any of the blame on the fact he just didn't get enough votes.

I got this explanation from someone who broke their confidentiality agreement by telling me. She called me at lunch on her cellphone and I had given her my cellphone number. We were both aware it could have cost both of us our jobs if it got out she was giving me confidential information. I referred her to free jinger if she wanted to know more. I don't know if she ever came here. I don't have a way to contact her now.

Believe it or not, this is what I was told. I have been busting at the buttons to tell it, but kept it under my hat. In one of the other threads, people are doubting it ever happened. According to my source, it did. The details fit right in with Jim Bob and Michelle wanting to keep their children under their control and "keeping their brand pure."

I might be able to believe the part in bold. The rest of it just sounds like a load of horse hockey. If you were in fact told this I think you were scammed.

[blisterine]

Maybe I was scammed. I just told it like I was told. Take it with a "grain assault." Thank you for not casting nasty dispersions upon me.

I did find a reference to sin in the camp on a youtube video. Interestingly, it refers to incidents occurring in the book of JOSHUA, chapter 7!

[Desert Ice]

I have to concur with the skeptics on this one. Josh is the firstborn son; there is no way either Jim-Bob or Michelle would just throw him under the bus like that, because it would cast Josh under a bad light, and also their parenting abilities, ATI, etc. Furthermore, Jim-Bob and Michelle tend to use "soft words" when speaking about a delicate or controversial topic. Their answers are rarely "yes" or "no", but always disguised as, "We love them", "We'll be praying for them", "We love the Lord and just want Him to guild us according to His will and teachings ..." If Oprah asked Jim-Bob why he thought he lost the election, he would have been quick to explain it was God's will, blah, blah.

What I find interesting is that OP's friend E. basically gave no new information, but just rehashed what we already heard (although had no way of confirming). OP, are you sure that your friend wasn't trolling you, or had read this information online, believed it to be fact, and passed it down to you as being true?

"It was also thought that Josh had fornicated with a girl, not the one to which he was he was betrothed."

"Also thought"-- so did the Duggars ever state this or hint that Josh had participated in fornication? Moreover, has it ever been conclusively established that Josh was ever betrothed prior to Anna? He would have been rather young to be betrothed to another girl, even by their standards.

[Rescinded and Mended]

I have a question. Does anyone remember watching Oprah in her early days, right after she got her own talk show, and then seeing fights break out with her guests, a la Jerry Springer?

I seem to remember seeing something to this effect from my early childhood, around 1988, but am having one devil of a time finding clips of it online. Perhaps I am mistaken.

Did anyone else follow Oprah at that time and see anything like that?

[Vex]

I don't mean to be rude, blisterine, so I apologise if this comes out sounding harsh or unfriendly:

You claim that this is bad timing on your part, that you were unaware of all the hoopla with RR and had missed the 4 fast-moving high volume threads. Okay. But the thing is, you still know you're posting something controversial, gossipy and completely lacking in any kind of evidence.

You know this is a snark site were we post what we think and don't hold back.

So I think it's a bit unfair for you to be asking people to play nicely.

You've been on this site for a long time, you know the nature of it. Presumably you've read the TOS. We've had quite a few 'be nice' requests recently. If this were the days of the orphaned Yuku board I would absolutely think that was fair. Dog-piling was commonplace and it could be extremely difficult to be the dissenting voice there. But this incarnation of FJ isn't like that.

People have treated the RR situation with remarkable maturity, calmness and control. There has been no hateful name-calling, no calling her out in the real life, no mobs and pitchforks.

Considering you're posting a piece of second-hand gossip that a) sounds kind of farfetched and b) is completely unverifiable, I think people have actually responded very fairly. Nobody is calling you names or being mean. When I said it would be a stupid way to troll, I meant just that - I wasn't calling you stupid. Likewise, I don't think anyone here meant to have a go at you. People were always going to be extremely skeptical of this, the time at which you posted it simply garnered you some extra skepticism.

I'm sorry if you felt dog-piled on, because I really don't think anyone was intentionally doing that. I really do think people have been pretty polite in their skepticism.

[Feberin]

I'm skeptical about admitting all the Josh stuff but this stuff has been rumored for many years so I'm hesitant to dismiss it entirely especially when it's coming from a long standing member.

[redcurls]

I'm skeptical about admitting all the Josh stuff but this stuff has been rumored for many years so I'm hesitant to dismiss it entirely especially when it's coming from a long standing member.

Agreed. While we have definitely learned that we must be super-cautious for trolls, we also have to remember that not everyone with an insider story is a liar or troll. Some people just end up with a great connection or story handed their way. What if we took this approach to every sighting, story, or example posted here? We'd never have anything to discuss!

[OkToBeTakei]

I think I must be the only one who WANTS it to be true :lol:

Probably not what with hearsay and all that. But great fun anyway!!

[Pretzel]

I gotta say, while I don't believe the whole story mentioned in the first post, I'd believe that someone who talks about cervix softening on national TV is also capable of talking about his son's sinful masturbation incidents. In the sense of "It's BAAAAAAD,it makes baby Jesus cry, and just look what good parents we are for punishing him!!11eleventy!"

[nelliebelle1197]

I think, if anything, the OP was trolled. Since the rumors have apparently been around forever, there may be grain of truth or OP may just have the bad luck of being acquainted with a Duggar Troll (or the real Ruth.... she did say a friend in Chicago.... joking I promise)

[Rescinded and Mended]

I have a question. Does anyone remember watching Oprah in her early days, right after she got her own talk show, and then seeing fights break out with her guests, a la Jerry Springer?

I seem to remember seeing something to this effect from my early childhood, around 1988, but am having one devil of a time finding clips of it online. Perhaps I am mistaken.

Did anyone else follow Oprah at that time and see anything like that?

Okay, so it was late last night when I posted this, so I probably should have been more specific. The reason I asked was because if anyone else remembers this, in spite of the difficulty in finding proof of it, then perhaps Oprah is a master at having things scrubbed and buried that make her appear in an unfavorable light, such as a Duggar interview that didn't go according to plan. Oprah maintains such tight control over the things she airs on her show that it wouldn't surprise me at all.

[2xx1xy1JD]

I have a question. Does anyone remember watching Oprah in her early days, right after she got her own talk show, and then seeing fights break out with her guests, a la Jerry Springer?

I seem to remember seeing something to this effect from my early childhood, around 1988, but am having one devil of a time finding clips of it online. Perhaps I am mistaken.

Did anyone else follow Oprah at that time and see anything like that?

I don't remember fights, but do recall that in the days when she was challenging Phil Donahue for daytime talk, she went for the sensational guests, not the high-brow inspirational stuff. Then again, I also remember when Jerry Springer was a bit more legit and did some real topics other than "baby mama drama".

[JenniferJuniper]

Okay, so it was late last night when I posted this, so I probably should have been more specific. The reason I asked was because if anyone else remembers this, in spite of the difficulty in finding proof of it, then perhaps Oprah is a master at having things scrubbed and buried that make her appear in an unfavorable light, such as a Duggar interview that didn't go according to plan. Oprah maintains such tight control over the things she airs on her show that it wouldn't surprise me at all.

Often at the heart of a story like this there is some kernel of truth that has been perhaps embellished over the years by different people, telephone-game style.

I can see Oprah's people taking an interest in the Duggars and perhaps considering them for a show. But potential subjects don't just show up in the studio. Maybe in the process of vetting the Duggars, the Oprah staffers ran into a difficult Boob who wanted control over content or who didn't like the idea that Oprah would be offering scholarships as part of their participation on the show. Or maybe they heard rumors (unfounded or not) from acquaintances or frenemies about certain members of the family. At this point we'll probably never know. I do think it's unlikely that a show was ever taped.

[runrgrl65]

I seem to remember there was a time when Oprah aired the more sensational stories, but sometime late 80's early 90's there was a huge lawsuit brought against Jenny Jones regarding setting her guests up, and one ended up being murdered (sorry, that's the best my memory can provide). After that, Oprah made an announcement that she would no longer do the sensational stories, because , "now we know better." Again, this was 20 years ago, and my middle aged memory is not what it used to be.

[WonderingInWA]

I seem to remember there was a time when Oprah aired the more sensational stories, but sometime late 80's early 90's there was a huge lawsuit brought against Jenny Jones regarding setting her guests up, and one ended up being murdered (sorry, that's the best my memory can provide). After that, Oprah made an announcement that she would no longer do the sensational stories, because , "now we know better." Again, this was 20 years ago, and my middle aged memory is not what it used to be.

I remember that story. It was two men she had on her show and one was gay and I believe they were friends and then the gay one expressed his love for the other one and it didn't go so well. And not too long afterward, the gay one was found murdered by the straight one. Something like that.

Talk show hosts that exploit people for ratings suck.

[Rescinded and Mended]

I remember that story. It was two men she had on her show and one was gay and I believe they were friends and then the gay one expressed his love for the other one and it didn't go so well. And not too long afterward, the gay one was found murdered by the straight one. Something like that.

Talk show hosts that exploit people for ratings suck.

I remember this too, it was the Scott Amedure case. He was killed by Jonathan Schmitz, who was surprised on the show by his friend, Amedure, because Amedure was interested in pursuing a romantic relationship with him.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Scott_Amedure

The Jenny Jones show was sued by Amedure's family. They won a 25 million dollar judgment, but the ruling was overturned because it could not be conslusively proven that Jones and her producers had any effect on Schmitz and his actions after the show aired.

There's an HBO documentary that discusses this and other concens about fraud on the talk show circuit during the 90s, called 'Talked to Death.' Couldn't find a link to watch it, but here's a link with more info.

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/5508 ... tml?pg=all

I remember one interesting part where Maury Povich talked about "killing shows" where panel guests didn't do as they were told.

[O Latin]

I could believe parts of it for two reasons.

1. Blisterine said 2005, but for some reason I always thought the supposed Oprah appearance took place before 14 Kids and Pregnant Again, so very early 2000s. I think the Duggars were much less media savvy back then and even if it was 2005, they would have only done one or two TLC specials at that time, so were probably still more like their pre-TV show selves. I could see Jim Bob saying some of those things simply because they hadn't quite perfected the image they wanted to present to their viewers yet.

2. I don't know how these types of talk shows work, but is it possible the segment, if it existed, could have never aired for completely non-Duggar related reasons? I've heard of Today Show segments being cancelled because something jucier and/or more important came along. Could the Duggars have been trumped by, say, some celebrity scandal or national news story?

However, as others have said, where are the audience members? That's what makes me skeptical. I suppose, by some cosmic coincidence they could ALL have been people who knew nothing about the Duggars, never watched their show, and never read about them on the internet, so never knew this rumor existed. But I think it's more likely, as someone else speculated, that the Duggars were considered for the show, but never made an appearance for whatever reason, and the rumor sprang from there.

[singsingsing]

We have to remember, too, that Jim Bob was a politician. Long before the TV show, he was using his family for publicity. He would have known very well how airing Josh's dirty laundry could have hurt the entire family's image.

[church_of_dog]

Guys, pretty positive that Blisterine is making a joke.

I did briefly wonder if it was April 1st...

[blisterine]

Sometimes things do fall in your lap. My department was working with the crew on "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" and one of their crew members told me that Brad Pitt was secretly hooking up with Angeline Jolie, hiding in each other's trailers for hours and having food sent in, but acting as if it was going unnoticed. I kept it to myself. After all, Brad Pitt was married to Jennifer Anniston.

My boss, who had turned the assignment over to me, heard me mention "Brad Pitt" on the phone and took the project- after I had completed all the work except verifying that things in transit had arrived. The same crew member told him the same story. He had no sooner hung up the phone than he was googling the National Enquirer and calling their hot tip line. He left a long recording with all the details along with how to get in contact with him to pay him for his tip. He never got a call back.

It made the cover of the National Enquirer the next week. Both Brad and Angelina's reps denied it of course...well, we all know how that turned out! The National Enquirer cited an "anonymous source on the production team" as providing the information.

I think the old boss is still waiting on his check from the National Enquirer.

[littlemommy]

I like that story better!!!

[IReallyAmHopewell]

I find it hard to believe. Oprah is almost the anti-Christ to many people. I'm sure that includes the Duggars, though Michelle would probably pretend not to recognize her name. I certainly do not believe for one moment that Jim-Bob said on national tv (or would have if it had aired) that his oldest son jacked off. No. Just no. That is not how he controls their imagine. Nothing will get me to believe this. And no way would they have taken scholarships that required children to go to public school. Just no.

[OkToBeTakei]

How Michelle should be proud of Josh :lol:

-O4XqvO0Eec

[OnceModestTwiceShy]

Blisterine may be telling the truth, but in light of timing and lack of evidence it is impossible to believe. Sorry blisterine.