The Truth About Oprah and The Duggars

[WonderingInWA]

OMG, that You Tube -- so funny! The man-sized tissues -- LOL.

[PennySycamore]

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.

Did Oprah ever do episodes without an audience?

ETA: Someone on page 2 asked about the Duggars using the word fornication. That's exactly the word they would have used for fooling around, going all the way, premarital sex.

[lilwriter85]

Did Oprah ever do episodes without an audience?

ETA: Someone on page 2 asked about the Duggars using the word fornication. That's exactly the word they would have used for fooling around, going all the way, premarital sex.

I remember that some of those "Where Are They Now?" episodes were done without audiences.

[library_youth]

Did Oprah ever do episodes without an audience?

When Abby and Brittany Hensel were little, they appeared on Oprah with their parents, no audience. I remember Oprah saying the parents had requested no audience because they didn't want everyone gawking at the girls.

[feministing]

When Abby and Brittany Hensel were little, they appeared on Oprah with their parents, no audience. I remember Oprah saying the parents had requested no audience because they didn't want everyone gawking at the girls.

I would think JB would want an audience, especially as a politician.

[J'ean Skirt]

True or not, the idea that Jim Bob would blame his son's whacking off for a lost election is hilarious. I'm guess the loss is that people didn't vote for him because he's a dangerous loon who's only issue was abortion.

I misread that at first.

I read "blame his son's whacking off for a lost erection" and I thought "well, isn't that the point?"

I'll see myself out.

[WonderingInWA]

I misread that at first.

I read "blame his son's whacking off for a lost erection" and I thought "well, isn't that the point?"

I'll see myself out.

To the prayer closet, Bisky. We'll let you know when it's time to come out. Not to be confused with COMING OUT. That's a whole different thing.

[OnceModestTwiceShy]

I misread that at first.

I read "blame his son's whacking off for a lost erection" and I thought "well, isn't that the point?"

I'll see myself out.

:lol: :dying:

[bananacat]

I'm also calling bullshit on this. There are no specifics, just repetitions of existing rumors. No date is provided, not even something as vague as a year. Not other details are provided either, like how many kids there were at the time. This is completely fabricated.

[ADoyle90815]

I misread that at first.

I read "blame his son's whacking off for a lost erection" and I thought "well, isn't that the point?"

I'll see myself out.

[Jana814]

When Abby and Brittany Hensel were little, they appeared on Oprah with their parents, no audience. I remember Oprah saying the parents had requested no audience because they didn't want everyone gawking at the girls.

I remember that episode also. It was the only way that would agree to be on her show. But I would think Jim-Bob would request the audience.

[lilwriter85]

I agree Boob would want an audience. Another Oprah episode that I remember that was filmed without an audience was a post Oscars episode that was filmed the day after the Oscars in L.A.

[LilMissMetaphor]

[roddma]

IMo it could be someone that maybe had a beef with the Duggars or ATI kind of like that 'Alice' poster who claimed Josh had to confess his 'sin' in front of the church. They could have contacted Oprah about the thing out of spite and the show got pulled. I ahve only seen this mentioned once. However, on Quiverfull Digest like in 2003 there was an article where Jim Bob said he lost because of 'sin in the camp' which perhaps led to the rumors.

[Talitha Cumi]

No, he didn't. That legend has been around for decades. So has the ABCDE one. Anyone in social services will tell you the agency had clients with those names, Female, La-A. I have been in social services for a decade and a half and have heard all those urban legends. Someone always had a client who named her kids that.

There really is a Male Baby Alexander. It looks like it's pronounced Mah-LAY. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0018642/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1

[freethemall]

Did Oprah ever do episodes without an audience?

Don't most shows like that have some segments they do in a more private interview, and then they air that when the interviewee actually visits the show? I know Oprah has also had interviews where she visits the family and sees how they live - they did something like that with FLDS once and we saw Betty Jessop (Carolyn's daughter of Escape) and none of those people actually visited the show.

I personally can see some truths in this whole thing, especially since some of it is stuff we've heard before. But Blisterine, you chose a bad time to make that post, the FJ community is still coming off the RR scandal and is in very suspicious mode (if you haven't noticed already!) and yeah, it may have helped to have some kind of evidence to back you up.

[Jana814]

I seem to remember that they were suppose to be on her show. I remember seeing a commerical for it. I kept record Oprah and it never came on!!

[singsingsing]

You may as well say you see truth in the rumour that Obama is a Muslim because the rumour's been around before and different people swear they know it's true.

[Palimpsest]

I think calling Jim Bob a politician is an insult to politicians. :D

He is a doofus who managed to get elected as a State Rep in Arkansas once. One term as a State Rep does not a politician make. Then the good people of Arkansas decided he really was a doofus and did not reelect him to a second term He also lost his 2006 bid for the Senate, although it was depressingly close.

He is a former state rep and used car salesman, a realtor, a D-list celeb, a real estate investor and a street smart business person. And an ass.

I think the "sin in the camp" reference did indeed originate with Jim Bob himself. Speculation about what he meant by the comment is just that. Speculation and unproven rumors.

[lilwriter85]

There was an article written during Boob's state rep term that was somewhere here on FJ. The article heavily criticized Boob for focusing too much on abortion issues.

[Palimpsest]

Yes, Jim Bob is a single issue kinda guy. Not great if you want to be a politician.

BTW,I just noticed that someone has updated the Wikipedia entry on Jim Bob and family to include the ATI/IBLP connection. I wonder how long that will stay there?

[SPHASH]

I wonder if the "sin in the camp" had to do with Michelle's "past" aka her defrauding the neighbor who divorced his wife.

[Handmaiden of Dog]

Hah! I've never believed that story even if Mullet claims it to be true. If guys divorced their wives because teenage girls appear in bikinis, this would be a nation of single people. She is so full of herself and the supposed power of her own young body. I'm surprised that she never claimed a blind man regained his sight because she walked around in shorts or a dead man was revived when she flashed some cleavage. No wonder her daughters have to call out "Nike" and shield their brothers' eyes-- the boys might turn into devil worshipers at the sight of some lady flesh.

[JenniferJuniper]

Hah! I've never believed that story even if Mullet claims it to be true. If guys divorced their wives because teenage girls appear in bikinis, this would be a nation of single people. She is so full of herself and the supposed power of her own young body. I'm surprised that she never claimed a blind man regained his sight because she walked around in shorts or a dead man was revived when she flashed some cleavage. No wonder her daughters have to call out "Nike" and shield their brothers' eyes-- the boys might turn into devil worshipers at the sight of some lady flesh.

I don't believe the lawn mowing story either, but if she really did break up a marriage, I'd guess it's because she slept with the guy, not because he saw her in a bikini.

[MsSaylor]

Yeah that bikini story is so ridiculous and Michelle comes off as incredibly full of herself for telling it on television. I always wondered about the divorced couple who used to be her neighbors at the time seeing that. How pissy would that make you?