Designer Nate Berkus Takes High Road After Attack By Derick Duggar

Jeremiah Brent (L), daughter Poppy and Nate Berkus (R)
(Image via Twitter)

Out interior designer Nate Berkus' and his partner Jeremiah Brent have a new show on TLC called Nate & Jeremiah By Design.

In only three episodes, the telegenic couple has already developed a wide audience.

But after the cable network shared a photo of Nate and Jeremiah with their daughter Poppy, former TLC personality Derick Duggar (remember the Duggars???) had a big problem calling them "a travesty" and lamenting the "perversions" being exposed to their child.

What a travesty of family. It’s sad how blatant the liberal agenda is, such that it both highlights and celebrates a lifestyle so degrading to children on public television as if it should be normal. https://t.co/xicRm1nsW7

— Derick Dillard (@derickmdillard) April 27, 2018

They affect this poor child, as well as what perversions are celebrated. If it were adultery, I doubt a network would be so quick to focus on the reality of it as if it were ok.

— Derick Dillard (@derickmdillard) April 27, 2018

However, Nate responded on Twitter, taking the high road:

My hope with having a show like #NandJByDesign on @TLC, where we go into people’s homes and welcome viewers into ours, is that we can start to break down barriers & normalize the way our family looks & the way our family loves. @JeremiahBrent pic.twitter.com/NsCAeh1nxb

— Nate Berkus (@NateBerkus) April 27, 2018

The next episode of Nate & Jeremiah By Design airs tonight at 9:00 PM EST on TLC.

TLC To Revive "19 Kids & Counting" In Spite Of Scandalous History

Here's some news you probably thought you'd never read.

TLC is reviving it's once hit show "19 Kids & Counting" in spite of the Duggar family's wide-spread scandals last year which included hiring prostitutes, infidelity and child molestation.

Via the Christian Post:

The stars of the series recently suffered through some scandals when it was revealed that Joshua Duggar took part in AshleyMadison.com, a website that serves as an online dating site for married men. With the family known as devout Christians, the news of Joshua's infidelity led to the show's cancellation.

According to Variety, the executive vice president of TLC, Nancy Daniels, recently shared some details about how the series coped with the scandals. She stated, "Every decision we've made has been done very thoughtfully and very carefully about what is in the best interests of the people involved and the network. Our first priority is making sure that there's a health and well-being of our families first and foremost. We feature stories of different families with real people and real things happen."

Fans are still interested in learning more about the rest of the family and how the scandal had affected them. With that, TLC released several episodes of "Jill & Jessa: Counting On," which showed the sisters coping with the scandal's aftermath.

After seeing the success of the short series, it was announced that TLC will be bringing back "19 Kids & Counting" to the small screen.

Throughout the show, the family was presented as the pristine, perfect "Christian" family. The picture was complete with episodes of campaigning against LGBT rights and what eventually was revealed to be hypocritical behavior.

Click here for more of my coverage of the Duggars.

LAW & ORDER: SVU Shares Trailer For Upcoming Duggar-based Episode

NBC has released a short teaser for the upcoming Law & Order: SVU episode based on the Duggar family's recent scandal.

The episode will feature Broadway favorites Chris Sieber and Andy Karl. Here's the clip description:

Law and Order “Patrimonial Burden” – The SVU investigates an unraveling web of secrets when the virtuous 13 year-old daughter of a famous reality TV family discovers she’s pregnant. Starring Mariska Hargitay (Lt. Benson), Ice T (Det. Tutuola), Kelli Giddish (Det. Rollins) and Peter Scanavino (Det. Carisi). Guest starring Andy Karl (Sgt. Mike Dodds), Ryan Devlin (Pastor Eldon), Geneva Carr (Pam Baker), Christopher Sieber (Frank Baker), Victoria Leigh (Lane Baker) and Chris Elliott (Pete Matthews).

(h/t JMG)

News Round-Up: September 9, 2015

Some news stories you may have missed:

• Talk about a queen with staying power - Queen Elizabeth II is now the longest reigning monarch in United Kingdom history.

• A year after a repeal campaign led by the infamous Duggar family overturned LGBT protections in Fayetteville, Arkansas, a special election held last night passed an new (although flawed) version of the ordinance 53%-47%.

• Mike Huckabee admits he blocked Sen. Ted Cruz from appearing at the Kim Davis rally.

• Edging up to Donald Trump in the polls, retired surgeon Dr. Ben Carson questions Donald Trump's "faith." Smart move or torpedo?

• Caitlyn Jenner is still lukewarm on the idea of marriage equality.

• Rogue county clerk Kim Davis received fan mail while cooling her heels in the hoosegow. I'm sure she's hoping for lots of checks in those envelopes since her crowd-sourcing campaign has stalled BIG TIME.

More Duggar Scandal - Josh Duggar Had Secret Facebook Page

According to RadarOnline, there's still more in the Josh Duggar sex scandal closet.

Now, it appears that in addition to his Ashley Madison accounts and admitting to being "unfaithful" to his wife, RadarOnline has found a secret Facebook page attributed to Josh Duggar where he follows and is "friends" with lingerie models and strippers.

Josh admitted to signing up for cheaters website Ashley Madison with the email address joesmithsonnwa@gmail.com, and there is a Facebook account registered to that address under the name Joe Smithson.

According to the profile, “Smithson” was posting on the site as far back as 2004 — four years before Josh married Anna.

“Smithson” is friends with 32 women, mostly attractive and young, and from the area of Arkansas where he lived before leaving for a political career in Washington, DC.

He’s also a follower of a dancer at Sensations Gentleman’s Club in Arkansas, a lingerie model, and a curvy blonde blogger.

According to the profile, Smithson was active on the site as recently as January 2014, one year after Duggar began working with the Family Research Council.

Duggan Family 'Heartbroken' Over Cancellation Of "19 Kids And Counting"

According to People.com, the Duggar family is "heartbroken" their TV series on TLC has been canceled.

The source says the evangelical Christian family, who often discussed their religious faith on their TLC show, is "heartbroken that they've now lost that platform."

"The Duggars want to return to TV because they truly believe it was part of God's plan for them to spread the word about their faith," the source says.

"I think Jim Bob and Michelle honestly did expect people to just move on from this," the source adds. "Their thinking is, they put this behind them ages ago, so why wouldn't the rest of the world?"

I'm certain the money and fame had nothing to do with wanting to be back on TV.

I guess the family thinks it's unfair that after you've positioned yourselves as 'morally superior' for ten years, the world won't let you forget that your son touched your daughters and others in "inappropriate" ways.

Department of Human Services Called Police Over Concern For Minor At Duggar Home

In Touch Weekly, which broke the Duggar family scandal, advanced that there would "more" to come regarding the "19 Kids and Counting" clan, and it's arrived.

According to the tabloid, the police were recently called in when a representative from the Department of Human Services was denied access to see a particular minor when notified via emergency call.

The Duggars made no mention of the fact that they have been under investigation again, but In Touch discovered what they are hiding via another Freedom of Information Act request that produced the 911 call.

After identifying himself as a Washington Country DHS employee and stating the Duggar family address, the caller tells the 911 operator, “We have an investigation and I guess they’re not being cooperative. We have to see the child to make sure the child is all right. So we just need police assistance.”

DHS records are not available to the public so it is unknown what prompted the investigation. Experts tell In Touch that an investigation can be triggered by a hotline complaint, even an anonymous one, if the trained operator determines the allegation is serious enough that it meets standards for child abuse maltreatment laws.

And on and on it goes...

News Round-Up: June 6, 2015

GOP presidential nominee Mike Huckabee (L) and Josh Duggar

Some news stories you may have missed:

• GOP presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee gave a full-throated endorsement of Josh Duggar and his Duggar family when the current child molestation scandal broke. The day after the parent's Fox News interview, the endorsement on Huckbee's website disappeared.

• The U. S. Air Force eases their policy regarding transgender service

• 70,000 Scruff members share their Pride plans around the world. Guess which city is most excited about celebrating Pride?

• Haters petition the Olympics to revoke Caitlyn Jenner's Olympic medals. The Olympics denies the request in succinct fashion.

• Senate Republicans vote against gay and lesbian vets' access to spousal benefits that all other married veterans have.

• Legendary impersonator Jim Bailey passed away this week at the age of 77. Watch the clip below from an appearance on The Carol Burnett Show - what an amazing talent.

Duggar Sisters On Molestation Scandal: It Was Just Mild Touching Mostly While The Girls Were Asleep

Jill Dillard and Jessa Seewald spoke to Megyn Kelly of Fox News last night regarding the ongoing scandal surrounding their brother Josh Duggar, who sexually abused the two of them (and three other girls) back when Josh was a teenager.

The long and short of the appearance is the sisters say Josh Duggar's behavior wasn't all that bad because it was just "mild inappropriate touching on fully clothed victims; most of it while girls were sleeping."

And they totally forgive him.

Jill Dillard:

"I think in the case of what Josh did, it was very wrong. I'm not going to justify anything he did or say it was okay or permissible. But I do want to speak up in his defense against people who are calling him a child molester or pedophile or rapists. That is so overboard and a lie really. People get mad at me for saying that, but I can say this. I was one of the victims. I can speak out and set the record straight here."

Jessa Seewald:

"I was one of the victims so I can speak out."

"In Josh's case, he was a boy, young boy in puberty, and a little too curious about girls and that got him into some trouble. And he made some bad choices, but really the extent of it was mild inappropriate touching on fully clothed victims. Most of it while girls were sleeping."

"MOST of it?" So some of it was while someone WASN'T sleeping?

Most teenagers look at a Playboy, watch porn or make out with a girl when they are "curious."

Watch the interview below:

Duggar Sisters' Bedroom Doors Were Locked To Prevent Repeat "Incidents" Of "Touching"

Tonight Jessa Seewald and Jill Dillard, two of Josh Duggar's sisters who he has admitted to touching inappropriately while they slept, tell Megyn Kelly of Fox News that after the incidents their parents began a policy of locking bedroom doors out of fear the "touching" would occur again.

Also, the kids were told they could not be left alone with one another.

All in all, though, the sisters defend their brother. According to a transcript of tonight's interview, Seewald downplays the entire issue, saying, “I’m like, that is so overboard and a lie really. People get mad at me for saying that, but I can say this because I was one of the victims.”

The second part of Megyn Kelly's interviews with the Duggars airs tonight at 9pm.

Meanwhile, In Touch Weekly has addressed many of the twists, turns and contortions Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar made in their "interview" with Megyn Kelly. Including the fact that the police report that began this whole debacle was NOT illegally released.

It turns out it wasn't filed until after Josh Duggar was over 18, meaning it did not have to be sealed. The names of the victims were redacted as they were underage, but the file was not sealed. The report was obtained via a legal request through the Freedom of Information Act.

It all just keeps getting more and more sordid.

More at Buzzfeed.

Whoopi Goldberg Is Not Buying The Duggars Application For Forgiveness

After Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar talked a lot with Megyn Kelly about their son Josh admitting he molested his younger sisters and how they turned to God to find the forgiveness in their hearts to move past it, some of the hosts of The View had really tough words for the Duggars on not applying this forgiveness equally.

Whoopi Goldberg to Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar:

“You brought God up, so it makes it okay to say this.

"You’re not forgiving of people who feel different from you, you made robo-calls about transgender people and said some really horrific stuff, so if you want to find out about forgiveness, this is not the way to do it.”

Sportswriter Mike Lupica Picks Apart The "Common-Sense" Duggars

Sportwriter Mike Lupica pens an awesome essay for the NY Daily News regarding the twisting, turning tale of Josh Duggar and the media circus surrounding the newly discovered hypocrisy of the family's "moral superiority:"

Back in April, Josh Duggar, who used to star in a family television series until the world discovered that he used to improperly touch underage girls whether he was related to them or not, was in Washington, D.C., for the National Organization for Marriage’s “March for Marriage.”

Duggar, being a good Duggar, was there to stand up for what Christian conservatives like himself and his mom and his dad think of as “traditional” marriage, and to tell everybody that good Christians like himself have been persecuted because of their faith during the debate about gay marriage in this country.

“America,” Josh Duggar said at the time, God bless him, “was founded on respect, tolerance, and really not discriminating against people based on their religious convictions.”

You would think, just in the interest of full disclosure, and knowing what he knew about himself before the rest of us found out, that he could have added that respect in America also ought to include respect for the rights of children, even when he was sneaking into their bedrooms at night. But as so often happens with people like Josh Duggar, they’ve got their gospel and the rest of us have to make do with ours.

[snip]

The Duggars want this all to be about a sealed juvenile record becoming public, as part of their professional victimization. Right. Now they want privacy.

No, the story here is what their son did, sometimes to sleeping girls, and the fact that they are still — and shamelessly — trying to defend him and themselves. You know what these parents really sounded like with Megyn Kelly as they tried to save their creepy empire?

They sounded like accessories after the fact.

I love that Lupica calls out the "sleight of hand" underway by the Duggars trying to make the "privacy" issue THE issue. Suddenly a family that sought TV fame for ten years wants privacy.

Got it.

Duggars: Josh Is "Technically" Not A Pedophile Because He Wasn't An Adult When He Molested Sisters

Josh Duggar

Last night, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar (of 19 Kids and Counting fame) spoke with Fox News' Megyn Kelly about the ongoing scandal regarding their son's admission of sexually molesting several young girls (including his sisters) when he was in his mid-teens.

The Duggars came armed with statements like:

“He said he was just curious about girls and he had gone in and just basically touched them over their clothes while they were sleeping; they didn’t even know he had done it.”

“This was like touching somebody over their clothes. There were a couple instances where he touched them under their clothes. This was not rape or anything like that.”

The parents explained that Josh gave a full account of his actions to an Arkansas State Trooper. Although no charges were filed, the teenager received a “stern” talking-to from the officer.

That officer, Joseph Hutchens, now serving a decades-long prison sentence for child pornography. “We had no idea what that officer was going through,” Jim Bob said.

When asked about robocalls Michelle Duggar recorded opposing transgender rights that suggested transgender folks were just trying to get into girls bathroom for sexual reasons, Jim Bob Duggar told Kelly that his wife “actually said pedophile in that robocall. And actually a pedophile is an adult that preys on children. Joshua was actually 14 and just turned 15 when he did what he did. I think the legal definition is 16 and up for an adult preying on a child. He was a child preying on a child.”

Josh Duggar, himself, has not commented on the scandal since it broke two weeks ago. At the time he issued a short statement saying he had “acted inexcusably for which I am extremely sorry and deeply regret. I hurt others, including my family and close friends.”

View the full interview with Jim Bob & Michelle Duggar below:

Duggars To Appear On Fox News To "Share" Their Hearts, Tears And Pain On Josh Duggar Scandal

Entertainment Tonight reports that the Duggars, Jim Bob and Michelle of 19 Kids And Counting fame, will appear on Megyn Kelly's show on Fox News.

More than a week after they responded on Facebook to the under-age molestation allegations against their oldest son Josh Duggar when he was 14 years old, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar announced that they are giving their first sit-down TV interview to Fox News.

News anchor Megyn Kelly landed the highly sought-after interview with the 19 Kids and Counting parents, which she'll conduct on Wednesday, June 3, from the family's Arkansas hometown.

"Next week we will sit down with Megyn Kelly on Fox News to share our hearts with you about the pain that we walked through as a family twelve years ago, the tears we all shed and the forgiveness that was given," the Duggars wrote in a statement. "We appreciate the outpouring of love and prayers for our family at this time."

I'm sure we can count on this interview to have hard-hitting questions... (sarcasm intended).

The Duggars Respond To Sexual Abuse Debacle

From Funny Or Die, this parody is actually more funny in that the two actors are pretty much telling the true story of the Josh Duggar scandal.

Clip description: Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar, stars of 19 Kids and Counting, finally come forward to tell their side of totally covering up their son Josh's sexual molestation scandal.

Hulu Pulls "19 Kids & Counting"

TMZ is reporting that the online streaming service Hulu has already taken 19 Kids & Counting off their servers.

The popular streaming site was bombarded with messages from users who wanted the show 86'd in the wake of the Josh Duggar molestation scandal.

Hulu responded quickly, saying, "The show page has already been removed, and is no longer hosted on Hulu."

This puts even more pressure on TLC to make a move. As we reported, we're told the network is leaning toward cancellation, but at this point, they may not have a choice. Advertisers are fleeing in droves.

Fox News Barely Mentioned Duggar Scandal At All

According to Media Matters, Fox News pretty much ignored the Josh Duggar/child molestation allegations that dominated much of last week's news cycle.

As many now know, last week In Touch magazine reported that in 2006, Jim Bob Duggar - patriarch of TLC's reality show 19 Kids and Counting - waited over a year before telling police that his son, Josh Duggar, had confessed to molesting several female minors, including his sisters, when he was a teenager.

In the aftermath of the revelations, TLC pulled 19 Kids from its schedule.

From Media Matters:

The revelations drew widespread criticism in the media, with many outlets pointing out the Duggar family's reputation as a torch-bearer for conservative values and strong involvement in Republican politics and anti-LGBT activism. The revelations look to many like hypocrisy from a family that's become a political powerhouse in socially conservative circles in recent years by wielding its reality show influence to stump for "family values," Republican politicians, and the repeal of legal protections for LGBT people.

But while MSNBC and CNN have reportedly heavily on the Duggar scandal, Fox News has largely ignored the story. According to a Media Matters analysis, Fox News spent less than two minutes covering the story between May 21 and May 25, compared to almost an hour of coverage from the other cable news networks.

Bolding is mine.

No big surprise here, although to see the actual disparity is telling. The Duggars are held up as bastions of morality by Fox News, so it's no wonder they don't want to highlight the clear hypocrisy in play here.

Jim Bob Duggar: Incest Should Be Punishable By Death

Gawker has an interesting story regarding 19 Kids& Counting celeb Jim Bob Duggar, father of admitted child molester Josh Duggar, whose position on incest seems to have evolved since his 2002 campaign for US Senate.

Jim Bob’s platform on his campaign website—preserved via web cache—states that he believes “rape and incest represent heinous crimes and as such should be treated as capital crimes.” Jim Bob offered this belief to explain his position on abortion (only acceptable if both the mother and the baby were going to die anyway, of course):

Click pic to enlarge

Jim Bob lost the Republican nomination for Senate to Arkansas’ incumbent Senator Tim Hutchinson. His son Josh remained very much alive and went on to molest several underage girls including some of his sisters from 2002-2003.

Dan Savage Calls The Duggars Out For "Demonizing" Gays While Covering Up For Their Son

Appearing on MSNBC's All In with Chris Hayes last night, Dan Savage called out the Duggars of 19 Kids & Counting fame for demonizing LGBTs while covering up for their son, Josh Duggar, who has admitted that he molested young girls when he was 14 years old.

Savage reminded viewers that Michelle Duggar publicly campaigned against a recent LGBT nondiscrimination law in Arkansas saying that this law "presented a danger to little girls, particularly, because it would allow trans women to use restrooms, and it was in the best interest of children to repeal this LGBT civil rights law."

"Just the hypocrisy of Michelle Duggar out there demagoguing and demonizing LGBT people while at the same time having covered up and protected her son who had actually molested at least five little girls that we know of is just staggering. It's galling."

Watch the segment below.

TLC Takes "19 Kids And Counting" Off Network Schedule

The Hollywood Reporter writes that TLC has pulled 19 Kids and Counting from its schedule in response to star Josh Duggar's admission that he molested several underage girls 12 years ago, including his sisters.

No word on if the network will permanently pull the plug on the reality series.

In related news,  June "Mama June" Shannon of the now defunct Here Comes Honey Boo Boo has expressed her outrage that her show was cancelled when she was merely seen in public with a known child molester, but TLC hasn't made that same decision (yet) about the Duggars show.

From Fox News:

Shannon told TMZ if “19 Kids and Counting” stays on the air, she hopes to sue TLC for shutting down her show abruptly. The man Shannon was snapped with never appeared on her reality show, she noted.

"I read that the Duggar family said this happening with their son brought them closer to God and each other. So they're saying it's O.K….?” Shannon told TMZ. “Hell no."