Earlier this month, Jill Duggar published her debut memoir, and as expected, her parents are not thrilled with the way they’ve been portrayed in the book.
In fact, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar have accused Jill of flat-out lying about her upbringing.
Now that the abusive parents have had their say, the other members of Jill’s dysfunctional family are sounding off.
And for the most part, they’ve been far more compassionate and understanding.
(Of course, we guess it’s a little easier for them to keep a level head, as most of Jill’s siblings were not depicted as brainwashed abusers.)
The latest Duggar to offer her two cents about Jill’s literary debut is her 25-year-old sister Joy-Anna.
Along with her husband, Austin Forsyth, Joy recorded a Q&A video this week in which she answered a wide array of questions.
And naturally, fans were dying to know if she’s read Jill’s book.
Joy responded to their queries with a somewhat disappointing answer:
It seems that she intends to read Jill’s book, but she hasn’t gotten around to doing so just yet.
“I will read Jill’s book,” Joy answered, as Austin muttered that he intends to read it too.
“I read Jinger’s book; I’ll read Jill’s book,” Joy said, as first reported by The Ashley’s Reality Roundup.
“If your family member wrote a book about your family, would you read it?” Austin asked rhetorically, before adding, “Duh.”
“I’m gonna read it…I want to know what it’s about. I want to know what she has to say,” Joy added cheerfully, possibly in an attempt to counter Austin’s notorious temper.
Elsewhere in the video, Joy and Austin claimed that they “never were” members of the Institute in Basic Life Principles, the cult that basically warped Jim Bob’s fragile mind.
The couple went on to explain that they were involved with the IBLP up until they got married, but they promptly abandoned the organization after they tied the knot.
“We started distancing ourselves from those functions,” Joy told her audience.
“We’d always talked about– when we were dating— that we weren’t gonna use their literature or stuff like that,” Austin elaborated.
“So just kind of distanced ourselves.”
But even though they’ve ditched the IBLP, Joy and Austin have adhered to one of its core teachings and are planning to “have as many children as God gave them.”
“I don’t feel done [having kids] yet,” said Joy, who is already a mother of three. “We’ve always, like, said four or five…[but] with each kid the number’s gotten smaller.”
“We both are very open to having another one. And then, after that, we’ll just have to see,” Austin added.
Well, Joy will probably remain in her parents’ good graces as long as she keeps cranking out babies — unless, of course, she commits the fatal error of giving Jill’s book a positive review!
Joy-Anna Duggar & Austin Forsyth: We Were NEVER Members of Jim Bob’s Weird … was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.