There was a time when the Duggars presented a united front against their critics.
But in the months since Josh Duggar was convicted on child pornography charges, it’s been every Duggar for himself.
The family has splintered into dueling factions, with some Duggars going so far as to publicly criticize patriarch Jim Bob — something that would’ve been unimaginable a few short months ago.
Leading the anti-Jim Bob campaign is rebellious cousin Amy Duggar.
Amy has never gone along with her famous uncle’s nonsense quite as willingly as the rest of the family.
But in the wake of the latest Duggar sex scandals, she’s been more outspoken than ever in her criticism of the culture of abuse that enabled Josh to get away with so much for so long.
And over the weekend, Amy indicated that she’s completely cut ties with the problematic branch of her family.
Amy tweeted a meme that reads:
“Them: You can’t just block your family members and stop talking to them.”
The “Me:” part was a video of Usher saying, “Watch this” and performing a little happy dance.
The implication, obviously, is that Amy not only cut ties with her family, she did so with great joy.
“You have to surround yourself with people and especially family who are healthy individuals,” somebody (possibly Amy) wrote over the meme.
“Who are healthy example to your children, who will protect them.”
From there, the criticism got even more specific:
“It’s ok to have huge boundaries if they can’t be trusted,” Amy’s meme reads.
“Especially those who hide behind religion.”
Yes, if there was any doubt that Amy was talking about Jim Bob and Michelle, the line about hiding behind religion should be enough to eliminate it.
The Duggar wield religion like a weapon, and we’re sure they use their faith to justify all sorts of atrocious behavior behind closed doors.
Amy shares most of her family’s evangelical beliefs, as fans were reminded when she celebrated the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
But she’s been openly critical about the ways in which Jim Bob and company have contorted those beliefs to suit their agenda.
Amy has reportedly signed several very restrictive non-disclosure agreements, so she might never be able to tell her side of the story in its entirety.
But for now, at least fans can take comfort in the fact that she has cut ties with her most toxic family members.
Eliminating problematic relationships from one’s life is never easy.
And it’s especially challenging in Amy’s case, as Jim Bob continues to wield a tremendous amount of wealth and power.
But it seems that ultimately, Amy knew that she needed to do what was best not only for herself, but for her family.
She’ll never be able to change Jim Bob — he’ll likely remain a toxic bully until his dying day — but she can take steps to protect her family by distancing herself from his influence.
We wish Amy all the best in her new, liberated, Jim Bob-free life.
