The Duggars' Megyn Kelly Interview - MERGE

[YoshiCat]

I have the most small town rural cable provider and our boxes report back and if you use the DVR and watch within 24 it reports as well. I always make sure to use my one TV with a cable box to view Days of our lives (since ratings are so important to keeping my 30 year addiction to a show on the air). When I watch the Duggar it is background noise and on the old analog cable tv that does not keep record.

How many times have we seen Josh's one statement requited in the media in the last week. Megyn's interview is going to be everywhere the next day so if you are afraid you might give them ratings, I'm sure there will be multiple sources online to get the information with hours.

I'm waiting to see the recap on the Duggar family blog, and all the fans saying how Jim Bob and Michelle are the greatest parents ever.

I actually thought they had mostly stopped doing that because people objected and felt their privacy was invaded. But I can certainly admit when I'm wrong, as it appears I was here.

[YoshiCat]

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.

I always wondered how his ego did after moving to/working in D.C. I lived most of my live in that area and people tend to be very smart and very well educated, especially the people who work in politics. So all his life Josh got a poor education but was told he knew everything important and had all the answers in life. And that he was superior, being a good Christian man. And then he gets to D.C. and he's going to meeting in Congressional offices and he must have been blown away. Even the women have law degrees and master's degrees. Would he realize how far out of his league he was? Even if he literally did nothing but pose for pictures and deliver speeches that someone else wrote, he'd still be mingling with people at events.

He's really fallen a long way.

[SportsgalAnnie]

I would love to have the late Mike Wallace of 60 Minutes do the interview. The flop sweat would seep right through JB/M's TV makeup.

A. Ann Curry my inspiration! She is gentle but not afraid to ask the tough questions.

B. Natalie Morales...She may be kind but isn't afraid to tackle the tough stuff and wont be bossed around by guests

C. Ellen DeGeneres ...She would ask the tough stuff and not let the duggars get off without answering/find a way to get the kids help if they wanted it.

[RosyDaisy]

FOX will not ask hard hitting questions. They will come out of that interview looking like poor persecuted Christians. As much as I hate Nancy Grace, I would love to see her rip the Duggars to shreds.

About the Oprah thing, OWN didn't become part of Discovery Networks until 2011. Perhaps a segment on abuse in patriarchal fundamentalism might have clued JB to the fact that she knew. Did she tell the Duggars why she dropped them from the show?

[CorruptionInc.]

I doubt we will get any answers from this interview.

I can imagine only pre approved questions being asked.

Unfortunately I don't think anyone will ever get to ask the following:

a) Why did Boob and Mullet allow a sexual predator to live in the same house as his victims?

b) Why did they think it was a good idea to have 6 MORE Children after learning about this incident, rather than trying to love and nurture the children they already had.

c) Were they really THAT STUPID that they thought they could PRAY this away and that no-one would find out? Information is everywhere these days.

[Nic]

Right now what I am currently most annoyed about is thanks to Fox News I think the Duggars are gonna get away with these shitty things because they say Jesus forgives them and despite there being a supposed separation of church and state, Jesus can give passes. If it were any other religion trying to pull that nonsense the Duggars would be one of the first to say NO DICE. And it means also that atheists don't get a "get out of jail card free" or that we as a society can say anything about having them answer to us, bc Jesus supposedly sorted it out.

[Queen Of Hearts]

I've been thinking about this interview all weekend. I'n general, I respect Fox's news coverage. However, there is no denying that their core viewership falls Christian and conservative. Meghan Kelley is a hard kitting journalist, but I don't believe Fox would allow her to piss off a large part of their audience. I am questioning what her motivation was for agreeing to do this interview. Seems she can't win - she will either come off looking like a fluff journalist or she will piss off half her viewers.

Personally, I wish Bill O'Reilly was doing the interview. I don't see him being so accepting of JBs shit, and he is cocky enough that he doesn't care who he pisses off.

[Helena]

Bill? Really? The guy who just lost custody of his children?

[Queen Of Hearts]

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

Personally, JB and Michelle are the ones I want to see grilled on national TV.

The way I see it, Josh did some terrible things as a minor. We don't know if he acted that way because he was a true predator, power-hungry, or just royally screwed up because of his weird, isolated upbringing. We don't know if he is still acting on these urges or if he truly realized he was wrong and never had a bad thought. Since he was a minor when these incidents happened and it seems was honest about what he did, I will give him the benefit of the doubt that he is a changed person until he proves me wrong. Plus, he didn't ask to be thrown into the spotlight as 'perfect eldest son' when he was still a minor and fighting his own demons... his sperm donor and incubator did that to him and, based on the way he was raised, I doubt he had the psychological capacity to refuse.

HOWEVER, JB and M were adults when this happened. They refused to get Josh treatment when the incidents first came to light... THEY are the reason these incidents kept happening. Frankly, I blame them more than Josh for any incident that happened after the first report. They had the ability to get Josh help and protect their other children and chose not to. Adults have a responsibility to protect their kids and these two failed. And then they had the gall to sell themselves as the the perfect family (forcing underage Josh and his victims to play a role in their public play). These two are terrible parents, terrible human beings, and hardly what I would call a 'Christian.' I want to see them be asked the tough questions and watch them squirm as they try to justify their heinous actions.

[Librul]

I've been thinking about this interview all weekend. I'n general, I respect Fox's news coverage. However, there is no denying that their core viewership falls Christian and conservative. Meghan Kelley is a hard kitting journalist, but I don't believe Fox would allow her to piss off a large part of their audience. I am questioning what her motivation was for agreeing to do this interview. Seems she can't win - she will either come off looking like a fluff journalist or she will piss off half her viewers.

Personally, I wish Bill O'Reilly was doing the interview. I don't see him being so accepting of JBs shit, and he is cocky enough that he doesn't care who he pisses off.

I don't know where to begin... :?

[Queen Of Hearts]

I don't know where to begin... :?

I'll stand by my other comments (I like Fox), but I will specify that the Bill O'Reilly comment was limited to simply the Fox hosts. I think Bill O'Reilly is entertainingly obnoxious and would love to see him bicker with JB on the air.

[Nic]

I'll stand by my other comments (I like Fox), but I will specify that the Bill O'Reilly comment was limited to simply the Fox hosts. I think Bill O'Reilly is entertainingly obnoxious and would love to see him bicker with JB on the air.

Bicker over WHAT??? Who thinks liberal America sucks more?

[formergothardite]

I've been thinking about this interview all weekend. I'n general, I respect Fox's news coverage. However, there is no denying that their core viewership falls Christian and conservative. Meghan Kelley is a hard kitting journalist, but I don't believe Fox would allow her to piss off a large part of their audience. I am questioning what her motivation was for agreeing to do this interview. Seems she can't win - she will either come off looking like a fluff journalist or she will piss off half her viewers.

Personally, I wish Bill O'Reilly was doing the interview. I don't see him being so accepting of JBs shit, and he is cocky enough that he doesn't care who he pisses off.

Are we talking about "Santa is white" Megyn Kelly?

This Megyn Kelly?

http://www.salon.com/2015/05/08/jon_ste ... orruption/

Granted I don't watch her a lot, but hard hitting journalism is not what I have seen with her.

[Librul]

Are we talking about "Santa is white" Megyn Kelly?

This Megyn Kelly?

http://www.salon.com/2015/05/08/jon_ste ... orruption/

Granted I don't watch her a lot, but hard hitting journalism is not what I have seen with her.

Yes, Santa is white and so is Jesus. Get over it kids. That Megyn Kelly.

[Queen Of Hearts]

Bicker over WHAT??? Who thinks liberal America sucks more?

Have you ever watched O"Reilly in action? if he doesn't like the person he is interviewing he will fight with them over whether the sky is blue. And JB fits the model of the type of guest O'Reilly typically doesn't like... i.e., anyone who tries to take the spotlight from O'Reilly. As an added bonus, he seems to delight in trying to intimidate 'not strong' women guests so Michelle wouldn't stand a chance. Say what you will about O'Reilly's political opinions, if he senses weakness or arrogance in a guest he eats them alive. Of all the Fox hosts, I think he's the only one who'd have the guts to knock JB&M down a peg or two.

I'm not saying O'Reilly is wonderful, but I do think he would be the best suited of the Fox weeknight hosts to expose the Duggars.

[lascuba]

Bill O'Reilly is also a raging hypocrite and knows on which side his bread is buttered. Compare his reactions to the pregnancies of Britney Spear's sister and Bristol Palin for just one example of how he operates. If he were to go off on Jim Bob and Michelle, it would be entertaining as hell. But he wouldn't in a million years.

[Jessica]

After watching Anderson Cooper rip into Mary Landieu, I'd love to see him interview JB & M. Not Fox News, but still...

[The Duggar's Mohel]

Fluff piece on the forgiveness of God, mark my words.

There's a reason they'll only speak publicly on Fox News.

[justoneoftwo]

None of us really expected them to go down quietly. They were also going to pick someone who they thought would give them a fighting chance to spin it their way. I don't know enough about her but I have to think that it is in Fox's interest not to go too easy. Easy yes, but not too much so. . .

[Nic]

Bill? Really? The guy who just lost custody of his children?

I remember seeing an article that said in court documents that he choked his ex-wife.

He should have just said he was sorry to Jesus and problem solved.

source: rawstory.com/2015/05/bill-oreillys-daughter-said-he-choked-his-ex-wife-called-her-an-adulterer-court-records/

[bunnybunz]

Maybe if we all pray for Megyn Kelly to rip them to shreds she'll ask them hard-hitting questions ;) :fsm:

[Nic]

Maybe if we all pray for Megyn Kelly to rip them to shreds she'll ask them hard-hitting questions ;) :fsm:

Better set sights lower and pray for something more achievable like Jesus showing up during interview and say "YOU GOT IT ALL WRONG. I'm not cool with you getting away with diddling your sisters." Or Santa Claus and telling Megyn to lay off the race stuff with him. Santa is inclusive.

[MatthewDuggar]

I have a feeling that Megyn Kelly really won't have to say/do much of anything. They are going to look like fools all by themselves no matter what they say. I have a feeling the majority of news outlets are poised and ready to rip this interview to shreds no matter what they say and it should spawn hundreds of articles and other discussion. They're going to be sealing their own grave.

[JumpingD]

Help a Reporter Out - let's list our dream interview questions for Megyn Kelly:

(I realize that the interview is probably already in the can - but it is interesting to speculate on what will be asked vs. what we wish would be asked).

Logistical Questions:

1. Where did it happen - ie in the girls' room, or somewhere else?

2. What time of did it typically happen?

3. Did he threaten the girls not to tell?

And the more obvious ones:

1. Maybe this was a sign that you had more children than you could supervise?

2. Why not get Josh permanently out of the house?

3. Why make your daughters take care of their abuser's kids?

4. Did you investigate whether Josh had been victimized himself - ie. was he molested before becoming the molester? This type of behavior by a minor is usually a learned behavior - how did he learn it?

And also:

1. Why was Jana on the Josh and Anna road trip kept secret?

2. Did Josh's abuse of the girls create the need for side hugs?

3. Any lessons learned? Can you admit that you reek of bullshit?

4. How about you quit giving parenting advice or at least donate the proceeds from your books and show to victims' causes?

[Browneyed Girl]

:worship: :worship: :worship: Excellent post.

Great questions. Too bad none of yours will be used and we'll get fluff. I have wondered about the "side hug" thing since this whole thing broke.