Jessa Duggar isn’t going to let online critics try to tear her and her family down. The former 19 Kids & Counting star fired back at trolls on Thursday, July 7 for spreading rumors that she did not show up for her sister Jill Duggar’s baby shower. The drama went down after the sisters’ cousin Amy Duggar shared photos from the event to Instagram (below) without any snaps of Jessa, causing fans to speculate that she was a no-show. Jessa quickly replied, telling the haters to stop spreading the hate.
“Please let’s not assume there’s a negative motive behind everything we do and do not do,” Jessa began in the comment section. “These rumors make me angry, and I’m here to put a stop to it. The narrative these kinds of comments put forward is a false one. Simply not true.”
She continued, “We spend plenty of time together even if there aren’t photos circulating on the internet to prove it. … Not every gathering has to be a photo op.” Jessa then signed off, “Quit spreading hate.”
Amy even got in the mix to defend her cousin, posting that the celebration was “a beautiful turnout” and all the guests “enjoyed just being in the moment!” She added “There wasn’t any drama and Jill was glowing!”
The baby shower drama comes after Jill publicly reacted to the news of brother Josh Duggar being sentenced to 12 years in prison on May 25 after he was convicted of receiving and possessing child pornography. A day after Josh was given the 151-months sentence and ordered to pay fines and assessments totaling $50,100, Jill and her husband Derick Dillard took to their Dillard Family blog to reveal they were “thankful” that “justice” was being served.
“We are neither rejoicing nor disappointed by the sentence, but we are thankful it’s finally over,” the couple wrote. “The Bible clearly states that God effects justice and vengeance through the governing authorities.” Jill, who claimed she was a victim of Josh’s abuse in 2013, went on to say her brother had yet to be held accountable in a means necessary to change his “dangerous pattern of behavior” until now. She and Derick suggested a decade in prison may be Josh’s only chance at rehabilitation. “Hopefully, Josh can actually begin to get treatment and begin to work toward a lifestyle where he is less likely to reoffend,” they added.
Josh was found guilty in December of two charges of “receiving and possessing material depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.” Law enforcement detected the activity during an undercover investigation that ended in Josh being arrested by Homeland Security in April 2021. Following the arrest, TLC cancelled the Duggar family reality show Counting On.