Amy Duggar King Says 'VeggieTales' Was Banned at Cousins' Home
Amy Duggar King is speaking out against the Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP) as she shares shocking moments from her own experience within her family. The 19 Kids and Counting cousin, 36, condemned the "damaging cult" of the IBLP in an Instagram post on Friday as she revealed that she was "being bold this year and just not holding back!"
"I was never a part of the IBLP officially but I was around family members who were very much involved and on the board of it," she continued. "I am just not going to be afraid anymore to speak the truth and expose the damaging cult that IBLP is."
Included in Duggar King's post was a TikTok featuring her memory of the time she "brought over [VeggieTales] so that my cousins could at least see a cartoon," describing the series as a "CHRISTIAN, wholesome cartoon." She remembered being told, "[VeggieTales] are not welcome at our house, I do not want my kids thinking vegetables talk." Duggar King emphasized in the caption, "I kid you not I was told this years ago...Also I've been speaking up for a few months now--"
Duggar King's uncle, Jim Bob Duggar, 57, and his fundamentalist Christian family were featured for years on TLC's 19 Kids & Counting and Counting On as they followed the doctrine of the IBLP, which was established by disgraced minister Bill Gothard in 1961. Jim Bob's sister, Deanna Duggar, also appeared in Duggar King's social media posts Monday as the Marriage Boot Camp: Reality Stars alum said in a clip with her mother, "This is just a reminder that anyone who has been a part of IBLP or anyone that was around people that were part of it or whatever, everyone has a story to tell. Everyone, everyone," she said, as Deanna added, "Everyone!"
Duggar King has spoken out against her family's beliefs and actions in the past. In May, after cousin Josh Duggar was sentenced to serve 151 months in federal prison after being convicted of knowingly receiving and possessing child pornography, she told Celebuzz! in a statement, "Twelve and a half years isn't enough, but I hope that every single second he's there feels like an eternity."