Jill Duggar Said Why She Left ‘Counting On’ — and She Never Mentioned Derick Dillard Getting Fired by TLC
Jill Duggar is quickly becoming a fan favorite, as she’s taken a step back from the rest of her family. Her husband, Derick Dillard, initially spilled the tea that Jill is on the outs with her father, Jim Bob Duggar. Now, Jill and Derick are giving their fans even more info via YouTube Q&A videos.
In a video posted on Oct. 7, Jill addressed why she and Derick no longer film for Counting On. But she didn’t mention anything about Derick’s firing. Here’s what she said.
Jill Duggar explained why she and Derick Dillard left ‘Counting On’
Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar brought their 19 kids into the spotlight over a decade ago, and their adult children have been carrying the torch with TLC’s Counting On. While Jill and Derick were initially involved with the show, that’s changed. Now, the couple doesn’t make any appearances, and it seems they’re also edited out of scenes from family parties and events they attended.
Jill discussed leaving Counting On to her fans in her Q&A video. “We left the show three years ago now because, basically, our family goals that we had for ourselves didn’t align with what we found out … we ended up finding out that we didn’t have as much control over our lives as it related to the show,” Jill explained. “We had to make a decision at that time to put the show aside to pursue our own goals.”
Derick then chimed in and said they “learned some information just before” they had to “quit filming” that made them have to choose between their “family goals or filming.”
Jill didn’t mention anything about TLC firing Derick
Jill and Derick give relatively vague explanations of why they quit the show in their Q&A. And it greatly differs from what occurred on Twitter several years back.
Back in the summer of 2017, Derick published a number of transphobic tweets against TLC co-star Jazz Jennings. Derick purposely misgendered Jennings in his tweets and caused a ton of uproar from fans.
“What an oxymoron … a ‘reality’ show which follows a non-reality. ‘Transgender’ is a myth,” Derick tweeted. “Gender is not fluid; it’s ordained by God.”
TLC then announced that Derick’s views don’t represent their own and that he was fired from the network.
Since then, Derick’s claimed he and Jill actually left the show on their own accord. An Instagram user claimed Derick’s transphobic display was “a strategic way to get off the show, because as he said, it was driving them to the brink of insanity, further making an abuse victim film so the show could go on ….” Derick “liked” this comment.
Will Jill and Derick return to the show?
So, will Jill and Derick ever come back to Counting On? It seems it could be a possibility, but the couple isn’t willing to come back without any significant changes made to their contract.
“We will not go back on the show under the circumstances that we were under at the time that we left,” Derick said in the Q&A video. “Just as a family, we have to be able to make decisions that allow us to navigate our lives and have the information and control so that we know whether or not we can even plan anything for our lives.”
Jill then said that if they did come back to the show, it probably wouldn’t be full-time. “Right now, we have no plans to join back into the show,” she added.
We’re looking forward to hearing more about what Jill and Derick are up to in the near future!
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