The Duggars' Megyn Kelly Interview - MERGE

[lascuba]

After thinking about this for awhile, I don't think that TLC in involved in this interview. TLC would never give its "talent" to a non-affiliated network for a monumental interview. I think it is likely that TLC has already cut the Duggars loose but have chosen to wait so people continue to talk about TLC. If they were involved in the interview they would have chosen a network owned by the same company that owns TLC. You don't give ratings to a competing network. So normally, they would be interviewed by someone related to NBC. I don't think the Duggars are trying to save the show, they know it's over, I think they are trying salvage their standing and profitability in their small, Gothard community.

I remember Jim Bob bragging a few months ago about being the number 1 show on TLC like they were hot shit. I wish I could have seen his face when he realized how outraged people were. Anyway, I never thought the majority or their audience were conservatives, just people like us that loved to snark on the show. I also don't think they have much in common with real conservatives who educate their sons and daughters, whose women aren't meek (I have met some spitfire conservative women) and who are not going to say molestion is ever ok.

I don't think TLC is directly involved in this interview, but that doesn't mean that they've made any decisions about the show. An "in depth" (HA!) interview like they plan to do with Faux News is completely out of TLC's scope. That's not the kind of thing the network does, that's not the type of programming they do, and they don't have the people that are known for conducting those types of interviews.

I think TLC is waiting for the results of the interview and any subsequent rehabilitation campaigns before making any decisions. They'll only have a problem with the Duggars being on Fox News if they fuck it up and make it impossible for TLC to continue with their biggest money-maker.

[sj3339sta]

What else could Oprah/Harpo have done, though? She received a letter form a random person alleging abuse, she reported it to the proper authorities, she cancelled The Duggars' appearance on her show for good measure. She had no way of knowing if that letter had any truth to it, and all she could do was report it and let the professionals handle it. It's not like one of the victims contacted her and told her they had been/were being abused. It would have been grossly irresponsible for her to do anything else in light of the information she had.

Oprah's network is also part of the Discover family of networks. I am pretty sure she wouldn't be trashing them.

[lascuba]

Oprah's network is also part of the Discover family of networks. I am pretty sure she wouldn't be trashing them.

Well, OWN is part of Discovery, but she started that network years after she received that letter about the abuse. While I think TLC/Discovery have known about the molestation since the police investigation started, I really don't think Oprah/Harpo had anything to do with them knowing, since they weren't connected to Discovery back then. By the time Oprah was officially affiliated with Discovery via OWN (which didn't happen until 2011), it was so so many years later that I doubt she would have mentioned it.

[halcionne]

Oprah's network is also part of the Discover family of networks. I am pretty sure she wouldn't be trashing them.

I would love to see Oprah interview them; I don't think she would go easy on JBMJosh at all. She could probably get them to say a lot more than they intended to without them realizing it, too.

I think Oprah is Discovery's best bet at keeping the sisters on the air, too, but they would need to have a lot of private therapy (or something along those lines) to make sure they're in a place emotionally where they can do it without being further harmed. And I actually think Oprah would want that for them, too, and try to make it happen.

[DuggarsTheEndIsNear]

If I had the chance to interview them, I would:

+ask JB and Michelle

-how did you discover Josh was molesting your daughters? What was your immediate reaction? What were the steps you took over the next few months?

-why didn't you seek help for Josh until a year after his first offense?

-you stated you didn't want to send Josh to a group therapy situation because you were afraid of him being taught new ways to victimize others, but why didn't you send him to a licensed, private therapy situation?

-you claim that the victims all received care after their attacks, where? What was the focus of the care? Do you think your daughters benefited, and in what ways? Did you follow up on the 5th victim to make sure she benefited as well?

-you speak about purity in ways that blame victims of sexual abuse, how do you think these views have affected your daughters growing up? How have you ensures Josh doesn't see his wrongdoings as the victims' fault?

-you say openness and honesty is important to your family, yet you forced your children to lie about their past to the public. How do you justify that?

-instead of properly reporting Josh's actions, you chose to seek counsel from people who helped you cover up Josh's transgressions at the expense of your daughters and those who entered your home. How do you justify this?

-throughout your "ministries" and political rallies, you've stated that people who are homosexual or transgender are a danger to children and families, despite a lack of proof behind such claims, yet you continued to support Josh and other sex offenders having access to children and families. What makes you believe that people who are no more a risk to society than the average person are more dangerous than those who have already proven to be abusers?

-after you discovered that your son's actions, did you start to understand how your homeschool curriculum enabled this type of behaviors? If so, why did you continue using it? If not, do you understand now?

-with so many prominent sex offenders and sex abuse apologists in the ATI community, why do you continue exposing your children to this culture?

+ask Josh

-what steps have you taken to repair the relationships your actions ruined?

-were your actions driven opportunity, or did you specifically target your victims? If you specifically targeted them, what made you choose them?

-what sort of help and services have you sought to address your actions?

-as a father to a girl around the same age as your youngest known victim, what actions would you take if you discovered she was being attacked the same way you attacked your sister? How is that different than the actions your parents took when they discovered what you were doing?

-do you truly understand how your actions affected everyone around you?

[Cartmann99]

I'm even surprised at Megyn Kelly vs something like the 700 Club. Even Megyn Kelly on FOX has a law degree, is a working mom with young kids and even more disturbing...wears defrauding sleeveless dresses and high heels!!! Wonder if she will have to "cover up" to enter the Duggar home.

I figured the "come hither" pictures Megyn did for this interview would have excluded her from being considered for an interview with the Duggars. :shrug:

gq.com/news-politics/politics/201012/megyn-kelly-fox-news

[Chubbi]

As a Evangelical Christian, he has absolutely no influence. I've never hear of Pat Robertson saying anything that actually affects the Christian community.

As for the Duggar interview, I've been wondering when they'd come out of hiding. The question to me is are they going to be defensive and full of explanations, or they going to own up to the criticism that they handled it wrongly and move forward to correct their mistakes? And are they doing this to basically get their show back?

It's true. I grew up in the ultra-conservative, evangelical, fundie-lite homechurch scene, and even my parents thought he was ridiculous.

I've never met anyone who actually thinks, "That Pat Robertson...he's an okay petunia." It's actually kind of heartening that the one thing most Christians agree on is that the 700 club is fanatical.

Slightly OT, but from her Twitter page: "Happily married to Doug, crazy in love with my children Yates, Yardley, and Thatcher..."

...Yardley??

Dude, I know, right? What is it with these extra-right-wing people and their tryndy names? A girl I went to high school with (daughter of a preacher, got pregnant at around 16) named her kid Daxton.

The Duggars will come off looking like the victims.

I just spent 2 hours talking about Evangelical Christianity and cults with my husband.

The whole concept of beliefs trumping actions, and being the right kind of believer trumping all sins is just so foreign.

Right?! I mean, I grew up in it, (and my family and I left it after shit hit the fan) but I thought it was kind of fishy and frankly, messed up. Like, growing up believing that you didn't really have to do anything because as long as you said "I'm sorry Jesus," you were covered. Disclaimer: being coerced into helping others in fear of retribution is bad too. But thinking that basically you can commit any sin you want and it's ok if you ask Jesus to give you a pass is fucked up. These same people want to enhance the scope of the death penalty. Looking at you, Boob.

They'll play to the God, Guns, Grits and Gravy audience.

I just want to say that I LOVE THIS name for them. I'm going to start using it if you don't mind, haha. :mrgreen:

Because we read the police report, but most people haven't. Will they try to make it sound like same aged femal friends of Josh? Would that work? Is it common knowledge in the US that the victims were his sisters and that the youngest was only 4 years old?

A lot of people I know, are pretty heavily pro-Duggar since they share the same social values. Those who haven't really read into it, so quite a few chuckleheads, believe that it was Josh being a teenage boy with teenage girls who were definitely not his sisters and their narrative is that JB took Josh to a trooper as a scare tactic and that the damn libruls blew it all out of proportion. People are willing to excuse anything for "good Christians." (I'm not saying that story is what I think, and I'm definitely not sure how people can do the mental gymnastics involved with believing that.)

Cognitive dissonance is a hell of a thing.

Then there's a whole part of America I don't know about.. God help us all (pun intended)

Sounds like the Taliban

My fiancé, friends, family and I refer to that section of America as "the American Taliban" actually because that's what it is. Sometimes I get panicky/anxious and think that what happened in Iran with their religious revolution could happen here.

(For the record, what Lena Dunham did to her sister was disturbing and unacceptable. But she was seven, and you can't put a seven-year-old in jail. She definitely should have been taken to a therapist, though. And she should not have been allowed to be alone with her sister until the therapist deemed it safe.)

I think the major difference here is that I haven't heard of a single person defending Lena Dunham. For some reason, many conservatives have it in their head that since she's on the librul "team," she gets a pass. They think this because they would do that for one of their "own," as well. Which we are now seeing with this Duggar shitshow.

I want to believe in a god and that there is a final retribution for evil people in this world. I don't, but I want to. Because then I would know that the Duggars will face the shit they did to their children, their innocent "blessings" that they just kept popping out. But they won't. They could fucking reveal that one time JB killed a hobo or something equally outlandish (not speculation) and some leghumpers would still come out to defend them. They are and they will always be paragons of "good American Christian values" and it's sickening that so many people have fallen for it and won't wake up.

I'm sorry y'all, I'm pretty heavily in my feelings about all of this. :embarrassed:

These people mistreat their litter in every imaginable way and they are lauded as parenting experts while they would rather have children be born and spend their lives unwanted than adopted by a family who just happens to be LGBT.

Fuck these fucking people.

[Buzzard]

This will be fluff, no doubt about it. I envision something akin to the Sunday news programs where people make the rounds, spewing talking points but never saying anything.

I watch Fox News (when I watch cable news) and the duggars have made appearances before. I don't think tlc is involved at all, this is likely the doing of whatever or person was dumb enough to take them on. I expect a lot of "this brought us closer to God and more determined to use the show as a ministry." They'll likely blame the jailed cop, saying he told them they didn't have to report. Blah blah satan... They will make themselves out to be victims. Some people will buy it but those that have actually read about them won't.

They may save their speaking tours, and maybe that's what this is about. The show is done. General Mills doesn't give a shit about why you covered up your son molesting girls.

[pega127]

I would like to see them be interviewed by Anderson Cooper or Don Lemon, who has talked about them every single night on his show since the first scandal broke out. But since that is CNN, that would never happen. I'd like to see them be interviewed by Nancy Grace too, she'd really get to the good questions. I really am hoping Megyn Kelly is going to pull off the kid gloves for this one but I am concerned....She's had Tony Perkins, Josh's boss at FRC, on her show on a weekly basis and I've never seen her go hard on him. I bet all of their questions are going to be pre-approved by JB & Michelle, right?

I'd like to see them interviewed by Howard Stern :shock:

[ShadowyOne]

*snip

I just want to say that I LOVE THIS name for them. I'm going to start using it if you don't mind, haha. :mrgreen:

It's even better than you think: that's the actual title of Fuckabee's book! He's calling himself & his cohorts that!

[MatthewDuggar]

The person who should be doing the interview is Josh, but they have him in hiding just like they did when he originally molested. They wouldn't even bring him forward to talk to the police. I'd like to hear what HE has to say.

I thought I was the only one wondering why JOSH isn't the one being interviewed? I could care less what JB and JChelle have to say.

[Librul]

I am shocked at the number of people who think Megyn Kelly is a feminist hard hitting journalist. This is Fox News. They are in bed with right wing religious fanatics.

[shedemei]

I'm glad they're being interviewed on Faux News. I can't wait to see all the sane people tearing then apart in the media afterward.

[Fascinated]

I'm hoping that behind the scenes 20/20 or Diane Sawyer (or anyone with journalistic integrity) are negotiating an interview with Josh. I don't think people will be satisfied with the JB & M interview, especially if it's all forgiveness and Jesus. I'm not sure that the family, and especially Josh, can really move forward until he publicly addresses this.

[apandaaries]

I am shocked at the number of people who think Megyn Kelly is a feminist hard hitting journalist. This is Fox News. They are in bed with right wing religious fanatics.

I think people have this image of her because she's spoken out about a few feminist issues -- AFTER those issues directly impacted her life. But occasionally she does something okay, like calling Huckabee "Fuckabee."

Not expecting anything major from the interview, though. TLC is trying to maintain some distance; Faux is an acceptable substitute. JB and M are trying to make themselves palatable to the mainstream again, not acknowledging how horrendous their actions were. But they can't do a forgiveness interview if they skip the repentance; they keep leaping over that.

ETA: The right wing religious fanatics aspect fits right in with the JBM party line.

[YoshiCat]

I don't want to watch the interview because I don't want to improve their ratings.

At the same time, I think that it's important for me to witness what these dangerous people are saying - unlike leghumpers who won't read the police report and just blindly keep supporting the Duggars. Easy questions or tough questions, I want to be informed and see for myself.

I also want to see just how much they're scrambling to rebuild their image. C'mon JimChelle, dance for us! Dance that desperate dance! Cry and sniffle and pander yourselves and your children some more! How many softball interviews will it take to keep people (the lovers and the haters) interested in you so that your gravy train can keep going?

JimChelle, I want to see you squirm in front of the cameras. Look sad. Apologize. Cry and wring your hands. Show me how desperate you are to save yourselves and your show. I still won't like you, but I want to see this.

:popcorn2:

Unless you're a Nielson family (you know if you are one), you're not going to affect their ratings. There are people who either agree to have a device monitor their viewing or fill out a diary of what they watched. Based on what those people watch, Nielson extrapolates to the total number of people watching.

So feel free to watch without guilt (or just be sorry afterwards, if God forgives child molestation, I'm sure he's cool with television shows)

[skulduggery]

I have a feeling a lot of us are going to be throwing things at the TV. We all better have some pillows handy.

I've seen squishy pillow bricks available in toy machines around superbowl time. I wonder if they're available for sale over the Internet? :mrgreen:

[skulduggery]

I think because all this is probably only about protecting Josh and Boobchelle's reputation, the girls should be left out of it. JMO of course.

I just wanted to say I changed my mind about this. I posted this while in the throes of triggers from In Touch Weekly and the thought of them hiding behind their daughters "forgiveness" was unbearable to me.

They need to own up to what they've done, and if they hide behind their daughters forgiveness they need to own up to that too.

[YoshiCat]

Why ON EARTH are Jimbob and Michelle being interviewed??? Josh is a grown-ass man - shouldn't he be the focus of the interview?

Well poor little Joshie is being unfairly blamed for doing something he actually did. So mommy and daddy will go on TV to tell us all what a wonderful, Godly man he is and that none of it matters because God and everyone else involved forgave him.

There's part of me that thinks they truly believe the only problem is that the rest of us just don't understand that Josh is forgiven. So they're going to explain it and all will be well.

I just can't fathom them admitting that they've done anything wrong. They may have people telling them to do that, but they'll pray and God will tell them they're right. Doesn't he always tell them they're right?

[Nic]

Well poor little Joshie is being unfairly blamed for doing something he actually did. So mommy and daddy will go on TV to tell us all what a wonderful, Godly man he is and that none of it matters because God and everyone else involved forgave him.

There's part of me that thinks they truly believe the only problem is that the rest of us just don't understand that Josh is forgiven. So they're going to explain it and all will be well.

I just can't fathom them admitting that they've done anything wrong. They may have people telling them to do that, but they'll pray and God will tell them they're right. Doesn't he always tell them they're right?

Even though Joshie is an admitted child molester, there are people that still refer to his molesting as "allegations" They were allegations, but then Joshie confirmed them.

But you know what, that's great that he's forgiven by some sects of society, however, people still have to face consequences within the overall society. People that have been on the lam for years without committing additional crimes still get thrown in the pokie when caught. Joshie should be happy that his societal penance is just that he was taken off TV.

If Jesus has pardoned him, shouldn't we be letting a bunch of other cats out of the clink that have that same Jesus pass?

[MisUndrstd]

I'm hoping that behind the scenes 20/20 or Diane Sawyer (or anyone with journalistic integrity) are negotiating an interview with Josh. I don't think people will be satisfied with the JB & M interview, especially if it's all forgiveness and Jesus. I'm not sure that the family, and especially Josh, can really move forward until he publicly addresses this.

I'm hoping for a hard hitting interview with Josh too, from a journalist who won't hold back. But I wonder if he is mentally stable enough to do such a thing. I mean no matter how we feel about Josh one thing is for certain, it's got to be a mental blow to someone, anyone to one day be in the spotlight as America's most hated person (which right now essentially he is, even though he has some religious zealot backers). I think maybe this is too soon for him to speak out. I wouldn't doubt to hear that he was put on a suicide watch or he is hiding somewhere for his safety. So even though I know Josh needs to do an interview, it may be too soon for Josh. So his parents are going to try to do an interview to settle the dust a little (which I have a feeling it may work the other way and stir the dust up some more). So I'm questioning if this is even a good idea for JB and Michelle to do an interview, I really think they need to an interview with just Josh first then bring in JB and Michelle.

[DaysAgo]

I wish someone would leak the unaired interview Oprah had with the Duggars a few years ago.

I would love to see Oprah interview them; I don't think she would go easy on JBMJosh at all. She could probably get them to say a lot more than they intended to without them realizing it, too.

I think Oprah is Discovery's best bet at keeping the sisters on the air, too, but they would need to have a lot of private therapy (or something along those lines) to make sure they're in a place emotionally where they can do it without being further harmed. And I actually think Oprah would want that for them, too, and try to make it happen.

[eh02]

I understand people's concerns that Fox might go easy on the Duggars, but I really am having trouble imagining any scenario where Jim Bob and Michelle can come out of this looking good. I'm not sure how much they can flounder around and repeat the same stuff about forgiveness and growing closer to God if there is going to be over an hour of footage, 100% of Jim Bob and Michelle. I am pretty excited to see how it goes.

I think it sort of makes sense for it to be Jim Bob and Michelle getting interviewed. Josh might be the one who molested the girls, but JB+M are behind the show (which is really the bigger issue here - people want to know whether or not it will be canceled). Plus, JB+M deserve someone grilling them about why they did not get professionals involved. I am no Megyn Kelly fan but I have to say, I really can't imagine her going easy on them after they failed to protect the victims. Trying to cover for your child who has done something wrong I think is at least somewhat understandable - many parents would probably do it. But not at the expense of your other children. They shoved their barely adult son into marriage and parenthood ASAP just to make him somebody else's problem when he had never received any sort of professional intervention for his past "mistakes." What kind of parent encourages a child who in the fairly recent past has molested a 5 year old to have children ASAP? I really hope Megyn Kelly DESTROYS them and asks them all of the questions they don't want to hear.

[Nic]

I'm hoping for a hard hitting interview with Josh too, from a journalist who won't hold back. But I wonder if he is mentally stable enough to do such a thing. I mean no matter how we feel about Josh one thing is for certain, it's got to be a mental blow to someone, anyone to one day be in the spotlight as America's most hated person (which right now essentially he is, even though he has some religious zealot backers). I think maybe this is too soon for him to speak out. I wouldn't doubt to hear that he was put on a suicide watch or he is hiding somewhere for his safety. So even though I know Josh needs to do an interview, it may be too soon for Josh. So his parents are going to try to do an interview to settle the dust a little (which I have a feeling it may work the other way and stir the dust up some more). So I'm questioning if this is even a good idea for JB and Michelle to do an interview, I really think they need to an interview with just Josh first then bring in JB and Michelle.

Why would Josh or The Duggars agree to a hard hitting interview? If you were Josh or The Duggars, would you want to? What would be the upside for them?

The JB and Michelle approach is the better way for them because they can say we were the adults... right or wrong this is how we dealt it. We tried our best. We prayed and sought guidance for the church. At least the parents can be held more accountable. Josh would be able to get away with I was just a stupid kid, and I wish I hadn't done it. Where do you go from there? What's your follow-up question? He played the kid card. You can try well you spent your adult life attacking others such as people who identify as LGBT. And he can respond, yes, my experience doing wrong made me so I don't want others to commit the same mistakes.

[MatthewDuggar]

I'm not sure how much they can flounder around and repeat the same stuff about forgiveness and growing closer to God if there is going to be over an hour of footage, 100% of Jim Bob and Michelle. I am pretty excited to see how it goes.

I have a feeling a lot of it is going to be background "fluff" stuff that most people who ave followed them already know.