Josh Duggar is about to go on trial next week for receiving and possessing child p0rnography but on Wednesday his cousin, Amy Duggar King, spoke out about Josh’s history of molestation and answered critical fans’ question as to why she (and her mother— Josh’s aunt— Deanna Duggar) continued to associate with Josh and his family after he molested four of his sisters and another young girl during his teen years.
In a series of statements on Twitter, Amy— who has distanced herself from most of the Duggar Family over the past few years— explained that she and her mom were lied to by Josh, his parents Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar, and other members of the Duggar family about what Josh had done.
“I did nothing about it .. BECAUSE I DIDN’T KNOW,” Amy wrote. “When we asked where a certain individual was years ago- we were told that he was at a camp helping an organization build homes.”
I did nothing about it ..
BECAUSE I DIDN’T KNOW.
When we asked where a certain individual was years ago- we were told that he was at a camp helping an organization build homes.
— Amy Rachelle King (@amyduggar) November 24, 2021
As The Ashley has previously reported, Josh and his family admitted to the molestations after the 2006 police report was exposed in 2015 by In Touch Weekly. That led to Josh, his and two of his victims– sisters Jessa Duggar Seewald and Jill Duggar Dillard– to go public and admit that Josh committed the crimes that were detailed in the police report.
(Jinger Duggar Vuolo and Joy-Anna Duggar Forsyth later came forward in a lawsuit as two more of Josh’s victims. The fifth minor female molested by Josh has never come forward publicly.)
Josh was sent away for a period of time after he admitted the molestations to his parents. However, according to Amy, the Duggars lied about why Josh was going away and where he was going.
“I want to explain that I simply was kept away from what was happening. I never knew about any abuse taking place,” she wrote. “I thought he went to this camp and wanted to help people simply because he just wanted to do a good deed. #fooled #liedtoagainandagain.
“Just setting another record straight. Felt like my followers deserve the truth and I’ll continue to be honest with all of y’all,” she added.
Amy went on to reveal that her mother Deanna (who is the sister of Jim Bob), was also lied to by the family about what Josh had done.
“My mom was lied to as well, and was never told the truth over and over again,” Amy wrote. “The division taking place [in our family] that you currently see was a long time coming, it was not an abrupt decision.”
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Amy, as well as some of Josh’s siblings, made it clear after Josh’s April arrest that they did not support him, releasing statements on social media about how shocked they were to find out what crimes he’s being accused of.
When one person criticized Amy for not taking action against Josh or revealing what he had done, Amy insisted she would have acted had she been told the truth by the Duggars.
“If I knew what was happening I would have done something about it,” she told the person on Twitter. “Unfortunately that wasn’t the case and I’m shocked and heartbroken just like everyone else. So stop the hate you have no idea what you are talking about.”
Amy vowed to keep her own son, Daxton, away from anyone involved in the Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP), which is the fundamentalist Christian organization the Duggars follow.
“I can only protect and guide my own child/future children. But you can be rest assured Daxton will never know anyone who continues to follow the IBLP,” she wrote.
The Duggars have yet to respond to Amy’s latest statements.
Josh’s trial is set to begin on November 30. Amy has stated that she does not plan to attend the trial.
RELATED STORY: 5 Major Things That Happened This Week In Regard to Josh Duggar’s Upcoming Trial
(Photos: TLC; Instagram; Twitter)
These girls are so pretty.
Its a shame the same genetics that gave them beauty are the same genetics that are absolutely terrible ppl..
Seems to me there are not enough people on Amy’s side of the rift in the family. I’m sure some will change sides as soon as the money dries up.
And by the way, Amy might want to keep homo- and transphobic bully Derrick away from her child too.
What he did was not sharing his opinion, it was bullying/ harassment. His victim Jazz suffered because of what he said and he rowed people up to send her more dumb hate.
I really like Amy. And, she has nothing to do with Josh and his Bible thumping parents pathologically lying to her and everyone else they come across. The thing that I can’t get out of my head regarding Amy is her husband. She was on another reality show, I think it was called Marriage boot camp? Anyway, she told a story of her husband getting mad at her and picking her up off of the floor by her neck. She said she was lifted in the air by her neck with her feet dangling. She told the story very casually which makes me think that she is used to his domestic violence. He did not deny the incident and simply said that he shouldn’t have done that. She is still with him and I worry for her and her son.
Are you sure that was her husband? I thought she was talking about someone else when she shared that story.
I know she is married to Dillon King since 2015 and I was hoping that I got it wrong and she was in fact talking about someone else. Sadly, I just looked it up and she was talking about her husband Dillon. She said on the show “He picked me up by my throat, all the way up to the ceiling.” She has since said that being on marriage boot camp taught them how to communicate effectively. I hope for her sake that’s true.
Oof, I didn’t know that Gemma. I share your concerns
How could people expect Amy, a teenager at the time, or even her mom to have done something? JB and Meech went into cover up overdrive. As usual everyone except Josh gets the blame 🙄.
What should Amy get backlash for? She had nothing to do with any of it. Obviously evil Josh, but JimBob and Michelle also deserve criticism for not getting Josh appropriate help and not protecting their daughters and getting them therapy.
Not really sure what Amy could have done if she did know. Basically what she’s doing now, speaking out against it and protecting herself and her immediate family from it.
Very unreasonable to be angry with Amy; put the blame on the perpetrator, Josh, and his parents who covered it up and lied about it for years. Even when the public found out about it, almost all the Duggars were still in damage control mode and lying about specifics. Even the sisters sued over privacy but no consequences for Josh. It was the public out cry that made the Duggars have *some* accountability for unleashing and rationalizing this monster.