Now that “family values advocate” Josh Duggar has been exposed as an adulterer and pornography addict in addition to being a pedophile, will Megyn Kelly revisit her interview in which Josh's parents, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar, assured her their son had been cured by Christian therapy?
In case you missed it, Duggar’s name turned up in recently-hacked records of the adultery website Ashley Madison. Now, in an online statement that does not specifically confirm his Ashley Madison subscription, Duggar said:
I have been the biggest hypocrite ever. While espousing faith and family values, I have secretly over the last several years been viewing pornography on the internet and this became a secret addiction and I became unfaithful to my wife.
This latest news about Josh Duggar is just a few months after it was revealed that he had fondled underage girls, including some of his sisters, as a teenager - and after his family went on The Kelly File in an obvious attempt at conservative rehab.
During Kelly’s softball interviews with the Duggar family, Josh’s parents and sisters repeatedly assured her that the boy who went on to become the executive director of the Family Research Council (he resigned after the first scandal) had turned his life around thanks to Christian therapy.
From the Fox News transcript of Kelly's interview with Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar:
J. B. DUGGAR: At that point, that’s when we pulled him out of the house and we said, he can’t be here. And so, we pulled him out and then, he went through working with that man—
KELLY: Yes. He goes through counseling.
J. B. DUGGAR: Yes.
KELLY: And then when he was done with the counseling, this is not like a licensed therapist, it’s somebody, a Christian-based --
J. B. DUGGAR: Christian based. But I’ll tell you why.
KELLY: Treatment facility.
J. B. DUGGAR: It really had a huge impact on his life. And it really, that was the turning point in his life. And this man really reached his heart.
… KELLY: Did you ever worry that the treatment didn’t work, especially with so many young children in the house?
J.B. DUGGAR: No. No. Josh was a changed person.
In a follow up interview with the sisters he victimized, Jessa Duggar Seewald, now 22, echoed the sentiment. From the transcript:
SEEWALD: …I think my parents, they acted, I can see looking back as an adult, now they handled the situation very well. They set up safety guards in our house. And, you know, they sent Josh away. They got to get help. When he came back, he was a totally different person like totally different.
KELLY: How did that manifest that? How could you see that?
SEEWALD: I mean, you just tell. I mean, he was repentant whenever he’d left. And he was very like apologizing, when he came back, he was just like, okay, I can see, he had made some life changes here during his time and he’s never going to go down that path.
OK, maybe Josh didn’t go down that path again but he clearly had not straightened his life out and become the beacon of morality his family portrayed him as nor the one he portrayed himself as.
During her Duggar family interviews, Kelly sounded more like a defense attorney for the family - which, it turned out, has employed the same PR firm as ex-Fox host Mike Huckabee. Assuming Kelly comes back from vacation next week, it will be interesting to see how she follows up on this story. Or not.
Stay tuned!
As for Megyn Kelly, I expect her to resume her usual attacks as soon as she gets back from her break. I’d be very surprised to see her suddenly take off – she’s extremely well paid and promoted at Fox News. If anything, the nonsense with Trump just gives her street credibility that I honestly don’t think she deserves. She’ll use this situation to say that she’s tough with everyone – which is demonstrably false in most situations, as Ellen has tirelessly proven here on dozens of occasions.
It’s true that Kelly has occasionally stuck up for something that personally mattered to her – such as when she went after other right wing personalities for criticizing her Family Leave time. But she knows that her position at Fox is based on her keeping up the attacks on whatever Roger Ailes dislikes this week. Conversely, I can’t see her being able to go to another network – her professional reputation is now irrevocably tied to Fox News. I can’t imagine what other network would have any use for her – except maybe as a right wing panelist sometimes. Which would be a huge come-down from having her own prime time show. She won’t go backwards like that.
NOTE TO KELLY
Your contract is up soon. Take our advise and leave these Workplace Bullies. The suits threw you under the bus.
Based on what we’ve read on conservative sites, the masses wants Duggar and his family to take a permanent hike.
Interviewing Joshy will further infuriate the Foxies’ christian conservative audience. We don’t think the suits are willing to take that risk and defend his actions.
Barbie Megyn is too busy trying to salvage her broadcasting career. There’s a petition demanding the Foxies to remove the Barbie from future debates. The Trumpster fan club wants her fired from Fox “News.”
