Trigger Warning: This story contains mentions of sexual abuse.
Amy Duggar says she’s still grappling with the alleged actions committed by members of her family, while also sharing some of her theories as to how two of her cousins have now been arrested for sexual crimes involving children.
On the latest episode of The Sarah Fraser Show, Amy opened up about her family’s controversies– specifically her cousins Josh and Joe’s arrests– describing the seemingly ongoing situation as “a nightmare that literally never ends.” She also discussed her late grandfather Jimmy Lee Duggar, whom she described as a “predator” in her 2025 memoir, Holy Disruptor, due to information she was told by her mom years after Jimmy Lee’s death.
Amy’s cousin Joseph Duggar was arrested in March after a 14-year-old girl disclosed in a forensic interview several sexual abuse incidents involving the former ‘Counting On’ star, which allegedly occurred during a 2020 vacation in Florida when the victim was nine years old. Joe is facing two counts of lewd and lascivious behavior in Florida. He has pleaded guilty and is currently out of jail on a $600,000 bond.
Joe’s arrest came more than four years after his older brother Josh Duggar was convicted of receiving child sex abuse materials (CSAM)– a crime for which the 38-year-old is currently serving a more than 12-year prison sentence.
While Amy acknowledged that she has some positive memories of her grandfather, she said she still struggles to understand his–- as well as Josh and Joe’s–- alleged predatory actions.
“ … it blows my mind when I hear about these double lives and just how quickly they can make a decision that’s just so heart-wrenching,” Amy said. “… I don’t understand Joseph’s behavior; I don’t understand Josh’s. Like, I can’t comprehend it, it’s just so sickening to me.”
While on the subject of Jimmy Lee, Amy was asked whether she believes there’s a possibility that her grandfather could have sexually abused Josh or Joe, given the nature of their crimes and their actions following their arrests. In response, she revealed that she and her mom have “definitely talked about it.”
Amy explained that her grandfather worked at car lots back in the day and that her “boy cousins” would often visit, adding, “I don’t know what could have been possible.”
“ … I don’t think they were protected, that’s my own opinion,” Amy said. “I honestly don’t think they were protected because I don’t understand how they’re smiling in mugshots, and how they go about life and the decisions that they’ve made if they haven’t been hurt in the past.
“There is trauma somewhere deep, deep, deep, somewhere there that they just have not dealt with because hurt people hurt people,” she continued. “And as we know, abusers, they take years to uncover and they’re like onions, and so the layers that they have … I don’t know how far the rabbit hole goes on that.”
Later in the episode, Amy provided another theory that may explain Josh and Joe’s post-arrest behavior, seemingly blaming it in-part on the many years the Duggar Family spent on TV.
“ … they smile and they’re kind of … happy-go-lucky and like, ‘What’s up?!’ to the police department, and there’s no real respect for what’s happening, or remorse, or solemness, or anything like that,” she said. “I think it’s because the cameras, I think they were taught at a very young age that no matter what they do, you smile, you look good and you just act like, ‘Nothing’s up, I’m not guilty, everything is great!’ And they put on that happy, shiny exterior.”
While Amy has publicly spoken out against Josh’s actions for years, she said on the podcast that she’s chosen to avoid reading the specific details of his case. With Joe’s case, however, Amy revealed that she’s spoken directly to the alleged victim of his crimes.
(As The Ashley previously told you, after speculation and public implication, a May court filing basically confirmed that Joe’s alleged victim is a member of his wife Kendra Caldwell’s family. Additionally, when the victim was referred to on Tuesday’s podcast episode as “Joe’s sister-in-law,” Amy did not dispute the comment; she also name-dropped the Caldwells and Kendra’s mom, Christina Caldwell, later in the episode.)
“ … I said [to the alleged victim], ‘You speaking out and you being so honest and vulnerable, knowing the backlash, and knowing the people that would turn their backs on you and not believe you and all the things,’ I was like, ‘You are such a strong person, you are such a strong person,’” Amy recalled. “ … I hope she sleeps at night, I hope she finds healing.
“You know, I told her about counseling and I told her about how important that [it] is to go and to talk [about] it out loud and to, you know, clear her conscience,” Amy continued, explaining that while she doesn’t believe the alleged victim is in the Institute of Basic Life Principles (IBLP)– the controversial religious cult in which the Duggar Family is affiliated. She does believe, however, that the girl has friends who “think that way” and has likely “been shamed her entire life” into thinking what happened to her “is her fault.”
Amy claimed that she was the one to reach out to the alleged victim, though she “was already talking to Christina” at the time.
“ … [I] just told her how much I’m praying for them, and my heart … just breaks for them, it just breaks for them,” she said. “The whole situation is beyond horrific.”
Joe’s criminal case in Florida isn’t the only one he’s currently navigating. Shortly after his arrest, unrelated charges were filed in Arkansas against both Joe and his wife Kendra, with each receiving four counts of false imprisonment and endangering the welfare of a child; both have pleaded not guilty to the alleged crimes.
Amy went on to express her full support for the Caldwell Family during the episode, while acknowledging their “dysfunctional” relationship with Kendra, who has continued to support Joe following his arrest. As The Ashley previously reported, the mom of four remains virtually estranged from her family, whom she allegedly evicted in March from the Duggar-owned home they’d been living in since 2021.
“It’s so evil … I wish I could get through to Kendra,” Amy said. “I wish I had a chance to talk to her or anyone could [talk to her]– not just me, but anyone could– but right now, I don’t think that is a possibility.”
When asked to clarify if Jim Bob and Michelle’s “control” or the IBLP is the “evil” she’s referring to, Amy replied, “in my opinion, it’s both.”
Click here to listen to Amy’s full interview on ‘The Sarah Fraser Show.’
RELATED STORY: Josh Duggar Transferred to Ohio Prison– the Fourth Prison the TLC Star Has Moved to This Year
(Photos: Instagram; Facebook; Prime)
3 Responses
Amy… please stop doing these interviews and podcasts about this subject. These are not your stories to tell.
People love to tell Amy to stop talking while also screaming “silence is complicity” stay on their necks, Amy! You’re the only one doing so!
I don’t like the Duggars as much as anyone else with a brain and a conscience. However, Amy is to the point that she is nearly worse. She is seeking the spotlight more BimJob anymore and she’s airing out victims information nearly the same as he did with his own daughters. What Amy is saying is third hand info, and no better than a reporter exploiting someone’s story to the media during their most tender moments. It’s so uncouth and just vile to exploit someone else’s tragic story to prop you up into “relevance.”