Josh Duggar Was Allowed to Sit in on Jill Dillard and Jessa Seewald’s Infamous Megyn Kelly Interview
Following Josh Duggar’s molestation scandal in 2015, Jill Dillard and Jessa Seewald sat down with Megyn Kelly for an interview. The painful and heartwrenching interview is one that Duggar family critics have referenced as proof that Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar monetized their children and their pain at all costs. Jill Dillard laid out exactly how the interview happened in her new book, Counting the Costs. She also shared one disturbing, previously unknown detail. The mother of three, who was also one of Josh’s victims, revealed that Josh Duggar was allowed to stay in the room while Jessa and Jill discussed the molestation incidents.
Jill Dillard and Jessa Seewald agreed to a TV interview after Josh Duggar’s molestation scandal broke
In June 2015, Jill Dillard and Jessa Seewald sat down for an interview for The Kelly File. The talk, Jill revealed, had been arranged by Jim Bob Duggar and his “right-hand man” Chad Gallagher. Initially, Michelle Duggar planned to appear for the sit-down, but both Jill and Jessa volunteered instead.
While Jill maintains that she volunteered to appear on the show, she did state she felt an obligation to do so. In her bombshell memoir, Jill noted that she wanted to help her parents maintain their show and was concerned about what losing the reality TV series would do to many of her siblings. Years later, after much therapy and a substantial rift with her famous family, it doesn’t seem like it’s a decision Jill Dillard would make again.
Jill and Derick previously discussed the interview in the Amazon docuseries Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets. Derick called the interview a “suicide mission.”
Josh Duggar was allowed in the room during Jill and Jessa’s Megyn Kelly interview
In her book Counting the Cost, Jill approached the topic of Josh Duggar’s molestation and how it was handled with trepidation. While she openly and freely discussed her feud with Jim Bob Duggar and the issues she faced with getting paid for her time on gCounting On, she seemed especially uneasy about discussing the 2015 scandal.
Despite her desire to breeze past the subject, Jill did reveal one detail about her Megyn Kelly interview that Duggar family followers were unaware of. Jill revealed that when the interview was filmed, Josh Duggar, her abuser, was seated just feet away. He was sitting on a couch off-camera, watching his sisters discuss how he had victimized them. Jill stated that she didn’t question why he was allowed to be in the room at the time. Although, it seems to have come to mind now.
Josh was at the center of two more scandals
Jill and Jessa’s Megyn Kelly interview did exactly what Jim Bob Duggar hoped it would do. It quieted TLC’s concerns. The network eventually agreed to rebrand 19 Kids and Counting into a brand-new show. That wasn’t the end of Josh Duggar’s scandals, though.
After the molestation scandal broke, Josh was connected to the Ashley Madison data breach. Josh, who had once worked for an ultra-conservative lobbying group, admitted to cheating on his wife. He also stated that he had an addiction to pornography. In 2021, he was arrested for possessing and receiving child pornography. Josh was sentenced to more than 10 years behind bars for his crimes.
Jill and Derick issued a lengthy statement following Josh’s arrest and conviction. She opted to discuss the trial in Counting the Cost.
