For years, the men at the top of the Duggar family’s hierarchy maintained their positions of power through a strictly enforced culture of secrecy.

According to Jim Bob Duggar’s teachings, the man of the house is second only to God in the chain of command, and the first son is next in line.

But these days, thanks to a coordinated effort from a handful of brave women, Jim Bob, Josh, and other members of the Duggar family and the Institute in Basic Life Principles are finally being exposed as the abusive narcissists that they are.

And no whistle-blower has been louder than Jim Bob’s stubbornly “rebellious” niece Amy.

Amy cut ties with her more toxic family members several years ago, and these days, she’s speaking candidly about the abuse she witnessed.

She boldly appeared on camera for the recent Amazon Prime documentary Shiny Happy People, and now, Amy has given the most courageous interview of her career.

“I was pissed,” Amy told Vanity Fair of the moment when she first learned that Josh Duggar had molested four of his sisters.

“I felt like I wasn’t worth telling … that they didn’t want to protect me. They didn’t want anyone to know, [and] they wanted to keep it inside their little bubble. Secrets breed in the IBLP. Things are hidden,” she explained.

“He was staying in a trailer and I went in there and I said, ‘How could you do this? … And I was very bold about that,” King explains, adding Josh admitted he did not attempt anything physical with her because “he knew better.”

Amy went on to reveal that the IBLP “absolutely” empowered Josh, and he preyed on women from within that world because he knew that they were less likely to speak out.

Josh was taught from a young age that as the eldest son of an IBLP family, he could do no wrong.

“The IBLP prizes the first child, [and] it doesn’t get much better than if it’s a son. They hold the family name and the family value,” Amy said.

“If you’re valued from the moment you’ve been born and people hide your secrets and cover up things, and you never get in trouble for the things that you’re doing, I believe you just become numb to how the world really is, and how the law really is,” she continued.

“It’s so sad how far it was taken, where he thought he could get away with anything. To think that someone holds a higher value than someone else is just so disgusting,”

Amy went on to say that she’s had many conversations with her cousins about the abuse they endured from Josh, but she intends to keep those conversations private.

She added that when she learned Josh had been arrested on child pornography charges, she knew the time had come to cut ties with the parents who enabled him.

“My last straw was the last scandal with Josh. I can’t imagine protecting a predator. I think that is the lowest of low, [and] there’s no going back,” Amy explained.

She added that despite living just 20 minutes from Jim Bob and his family, she never runs into any of the Duggars.

“They would probably be very sweet and very kind, [but] they see me as someone that is disruptive and loud and completely against IBLP. So I am a threat,” she said.

“[But] I’m never going to back down and I’m not scared.”

Asked about her Jill Duggar’s upcoming memoir, Amy revealed that she’s proud of her cousin for finally finding her voice.

“I’m just so proud of her in every way. This is her time to shine,”

Amy then expressed for her cousin Jana Duggar who is unmarried, and therefore still lives at home with Jim Bob and Michelle at the age of 33.

“I truly hope to the good Lord above that she is happy and thriving and working through whatever she’s experienced, but I have no contact with her,” King said.

“Anyone that lives at home with anyone in the IBLP, you’re under their control, so I don’t know if she’s necessarily allowed to.”

As for Josh’s long-suffering wife Anna Duggar, Amy revealed she’s tried to offer her a safe place to stay but has been rebuffed time and again.

“I’ve reached out in every way I know how, but radio silence,” she said.

“The fact that she thinks we were the toxic ones, because we’re speaking out on how we should protect children and how we should value our marriage … it’s just sad that she thinks that love hurts like this, that trauma is love and that abuse is love.”

Amy concluded with a message for the anyone who’s been labeled a rebel of black sheep:

“It’s okay to be labeled as a rebel. It’s okay to step out and say, ‘Yes, I’m different from you and I’m going to take a stand for what’s right,’” she told Vanity Fair.

Watch me protect my child. Watch me stand up for those girls. Watch me stand up for survivors. Just watch me, because I’m a force to be reckoned with.”

With any luck, Amy’s example will inspire others to speak out against abuse in their own communities.

Amy Duggar: Josh Duggar Never Molested Me Because He Knew I’d Fight Back was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.