Josh Duggar, the former US reality TV personality who rose to fame on TLC's19 Kids and Counting, has been accused in newly leaked prison texts of blaming his parents' 'guilt' and obsession with public image for his downfall, accordingtoPeople.
Josh Duggar, now 38, was convicted in 2021 of receiving and possessing child sexual abuse materialand was sentenced in 2022 to more than 12 years in federal prison.
The scandal effectively ended the Duggar family's lucrative television career and shattered the carefully managed image of a devout, tightly knit Christian household that had attracted millions of viewers on both sides of the Atlantic.
In the newly revealed texts, reportedly sent from prison to his mother, Michelle Duggar, Josh Duggar claimed his parents had failed to take responsibility for their part in events that 'directly affected' his life, while focusing instead on how the family appeared to the outside world.
'I am very disappointed. I feel like you just don't receive criticism or take admission for your own actions THAT HAVE DIRECTLY AFFECTED MY LIFE, including in this situation,' he wrote, in a message quoted byPeople.
Josh insisted he was not placing the entire scandal at his parents' feet, telling his mother: 'I AM NOT BLAMING YOU FOR THE SITUATION, BUT YOU ARE BLAMING ME — AND YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW THE TRUTH — YOU SAID THAT YOURSELF TODAY.'
According to the outlet, he used the same exchange to again profess his innocence. He alleged that another man, a colleague from the used car dealership where he had worked, was the one who downloaded the illegal images and videos onto the computer at the centre of the case. The court, after hearing expert forensic testimony, rejected that defence.
In one particularly raw message, Josh Duggar told his mother, 'I just think you don't get it. You don't understand how you have hurt me and you keep trying to make yourselves 'look good' instead of trying to be concerned about your responses to my charges or anything else in my life.'
The texts suggest this was not a one‑off outburst but part of a longer simmering resentment. Around three months earlier, while complaining about the strain of imprisonment as his relatives were 'out going and doing,' he wrote that 'public statements and pr work to save shows and public images I feel were placed above family relationships ... and still are to this day.'
He went further, accusing Michelle of being 'worried about pr more than anything else sometimes.' He added that he was 'not trying to shift blame for anything,' but urged her to 'consider your role and change so that other children are not in the same situations later.'
Source: International Business Times UK
