Josiah and the Arm Twist

[roddma]

A FB Duggar page, not a fan page, doesn't believe the arm twist thing ever happened. I saw too many discussions from those who saw the original clip.

[tralala]

I'm pretty sure it happened because I went through the FJ thread about it as a lurker and people were talking about it. As i recall it was a live shot. I think by even the first re-run it was edited out.

[GoFlamingo]

Was his arm being twister, or was he doing the twisting?

[Vivi_music]

Was his arm being twister, or was he doing the twisting?

It was when Michelle and Dim Bulb announced to the family they were expecting Jubilee.

I actually never saw the original, only the altered version that looked like 'camera snapshot' images. Even so, Josiah's face completely changed from one frame to the next and he actually left the group at the end. You definitely can here someone call his name, even in the edited version. Some people on here believed they heard Jana, Jinger or Jill say ''Josiah! Don't cry!" in the original version but I can't confirm this myself. When he reappears, he looks like he is rubbing his elbow, which leads a lot of people to believe he was strong armed back into the frame. I truly hope it didn't happen though. I would feel bad for him if it did. It must be awful to realize your own parents don't care about how you feels, they just want to please the TLC people.

Do anyone know if there is an unaltered version on the internet? Maybe one where we see the original reactions or we hear the girls clearly?

[roddma]

All the edited version shows is Josiah running off, followed by Boob, and then sitting back in the audience. Some of the others looked in the direction and Mary giving Boob the stink eye when they returned. In any case, Boob seems to have been at odds with him since. There may be an unedited version on You Tube. I will have to look later.

[Ethdyl]

It must be somewhere!

[nellautumngirl]

I don't think there is an unedited version, I would love to see it if there is though!

To conceal the fact that Josiah left, they chopped the scene up into snapshots, if you know what I mean, so there is just a series of photos. But several people have pointed out that you can see on the faces of his siblings that something unexpected happened. Some look worried. Jana yells "Josiah, don't..." but the rest is inaudible. When he's back, Josiah looks upset and JB looks pissed off. I totally believe he dragged Josiah back not very gentle and maybe twisted his arm a bit.

It starts at around 8:00 youtube.com/watch?v=1lJ0fWfOHro

[Ethdyl]

I heard Jana call out Siah then all the kids are looking in that direction not at Michelle and then he's rubbing his arm when he's back in frame.

[hollywood]

That makes me so sad... maybe it is things like this why he was sent for so long to ALERT?

[leftcoastmama]

It makes me sad to think what happens when the cameras are not around. More than once the kids and Michelle too I believe have mentioned Jim Bob having a "quick temper" or whatever they call it.

[DuggarsTheEndIsNear]

I've watched the clip MANY times and I really think that it's another case of "seeing what you want to see." A lot of people want to see the Duggars as being abusive to their kids and look for the signs continuously. And there are many opinions of what happened from people saying that it sound like he was going to call someone, others who said it sounded like the girls were panicked, etc. Many say he was rubbing his arm and looking like he was injured.

I can't say what happened or even properly speculate. IF abuse happened, they did a very good job of editing it out because there was such a short time between him leaving and returning. IF he was upset and aired his grievances or asked to talk to his parents after the filming, again it was edited. IF he was going to call someone, it was stopped before he did. IF something else entirely happened, we will never know.

[Rescinded and Mended]

I caught the original clip when it first aired, and it looked to me as if Josiah had a visceral reaction to the pregnancy announcement of Jubilee. He sort of bent over, and ran (lurched?) out of the frame. He looked like he was going to be sick. Next thing I remember, Jim Bob had him by the arm back in the group. I'm not sure how that played out, if he actually got his arm twisted or not, but it did appear as if Jim Bob roughly grabbed him to pull him back.

I'd love to see the original clip of this again, too. Surely someone got it on DVR?

[Alachantal]

I'm not sure which of the girls it was (it sounded like Jana) when watching the clip again just now I definitely noticed one of them calling out "Josiah don't c- (something)", and he seemed to just take off from the picture. I can't speculate on abuse, but he for sure looked like he was going to be sick. Maybe he was stressed by that situation so he booked it out of the picture? As someone who gets easily stressed and also throws up when stressed enough, if that is his issue, I can totally relate - but that doesn't explain the rubbing the arm or looking like he'd been crying (well, maybe the crying part). I think something happened there considering he booked it out of the picture and seemed to be gone for quite a length of time, as well as how he looked when he got back in the picture. I wouldn't put it past Boob to grab him roughly and force him back into the shot for the sake of the brand.

[Lana]

I saw the original episode when it first aired. There was no arm twist.

I too heard Jana say "Josiah, don't c-" and everyone looked off camera in a common direction. Then he was back standing by Jim Bob while JB discussed the news of the coming baby but that was all to it.

It definitely seems like a case of one person extrapolating on what could have happened out of shot and many others jumping on the idea and carrying it along like fact since then. It is puzzling why some would say it so definitively when they never even watched the show.

[roddma]

I don't think anyone is looking for abuse. It's how TLC edits things that cause controversy. As Aschantal said, you can't put anything past Boob and you have to consider their beliefs. Too many people saw the original clip. And I have watched the show in the past and studied on their beliefs. They try to pass themselves as innocent. No one says it is fact. It is just speculation on what could have happened.

[leftcoastmama]

I don't want to see any kids abused.

I remember watching that scene when it aired originally and it gave me a sick feeling in my stomach.

Did I see JB twist his arm ? No, but I wouldn't be surprised if he did. Because these are the same people that at one time practiced blanket training, supported the Pearls, and have mentioned JB having to overcome a quick temper.

[Coconut Flan]

I think the arm twist originated with Josiah coming back into frame looking as if he'd been crying, tissue in hand, and holding onto/rubbing his upper arm. Maybe it was a pinch, punch, pull, or grab, but Josiah definitely looked as if something had happened off screen. You can't always tell how long someone was out of frame due to the wonders of editing.

[Mitz_]

I wonder why he was so upset? Is he ashamed of the extreme breeding, yet another child and the family is already a freak show? Does he hate being one neglected child among umpteen and counting? Is he afraid for his mother's life ? Instead of another blessing...what does he see?

Josiah is sensitive, a thinker. I'll bet he doesn't just swallow all of the crap he's fed.

[Vivi_music]

I've watched the clip MANY times and I really think that it's another case of "seeing what you want to see." A lot of people want to see the Duggars as being abusive to their kids and look for the signs continuously. And there are many opinions of what happened from people saying that it sound like he was going to call someone, others who said it sounded like the girls were panicked, etc. Many say he was rubbing his arm and looking like he was injured.

I agree with you for the most part. This is only speculation from the fans. But you have to admit his reaction is intriguing. Maybe there was no case of physical abuse but Josiah still reacted differently than the rest of his siblings. At least to me, even if there was no abuse, he seemed clearly distraught.

To think a young teenage boy like Josiah was able to see the risks of this pregnancy and not his own parents.... argh. :angry-banghead:

[Ella]

I wonder how many years it will be before he explains this in an interview.

[Mitz_]

I don't think Josiah will be doing any explaining about his family...that will be one of the younger girls like Jenny or Hannie. Josiah will be a quiet, loving Christian with a couple of kids.

If Boob and J'uterus are any sort of parents at all they would have known that would be upsetting news for Josiah and they would have handled it in a private , off-camera manner so that they could comfort him and avoid embarrassing him . It was a horrifying example of shitty parenting and disregard for their child as a human being.

We didn't see the arm twist but he was all red faced , looked like he had been crying and he was holding his arm up like a T-Rex ...someone used that analogy in the origional thread and it was hilarious...but Josiah's reaction and the way it was handled wasn't funny to anyone, it was sad and painful. We all make parenting mistakes but I don't think this was a mistake, more like collateral damage incurred in the pursuit of fame and fortune.

[Ella]

Josiah did look freaked out after whatever happened. I'm talking about when Jim-Bob had him next to him as he continued the announcement, and then Josiah disappeared magically from Jim-Bob's side again. He looked kind of shocked, like "OMG am I the only one who realizes the insanity taking place in this room?" :shock:

I noticed that right before Amy announced her "big surprise", he had the same expression on his face, like, "What fresh hell should I be dreading now?"

Josiah appears to me to be thinking of his life as a horror movie, where everyone is all smiley and pretending that everything is normal but nothing really is. But if he expresses that in any way, he gets treated like he's the freak.

[neuroticcat]

I'm one of those who rewatched that several times and didn't really see anything. Some time before the announcement, Josiah was scratching that arm, so I think it was irritating him for some other reason. And I think that the "Josiah, don't-" makes sense if he had left to grab the cell phone from the kitchen and they were saying "Josiah don't call..." about the announcement. If I remember correctly he had a cellphone in hand later on texting someone. And the choppy scene cuts are nothing new for TLC.

I don't doubt that physical abuse/spanking happens in that home - especially with the little ones - but I don't think that was an instance of it. I honestly don't think any of those kids - especially the older ones - would show their disapproval for pregnancy during a TLC shoot. They are pros at learning to control and mask their emotions, there's no way they would let that slip in that moment. Off camera - maybe. Besides, I highly doubt any of the kids are surprised when another pregnancy announcement pops up. They've heard their parents rhetoric more than anyone.

I just don't see the evidence.

[ILoveJellybeans]

I think they should have announced it for the first time in private after Josie's premature birth. They should have thought of the fact that some kids might not react with complete happiness because they are worried that their mom might die during the next birth like she nearly did with Josie, or that they might worry about another premature baby, who might not live, and have to go through all of the traumatic stuff that went with it like their parents not being around as much as theyre at the hospital, worry over whether the baby would live, having to leave their home...

[TRexGurl]

I guess I missed this episode. I don't blame the kid if he was upset and I wouldn't be surprised if Josiah and possibly other Duggar kids have had the chance to research the toll all the pregnancies has taken on their mother. I don't buy for one second that they are constantly supervised.