Joy-Anna Duggar and her husband, Austin Forsyth, are in some hot water over a new YouTube video they appeared in during the ongoing coronavirus crisis. The Counting On couple, who are expecting a baby soon, appeared on the Freedomists YouTube channel for a video entitled “Corona Trivia & Baby Food Challenge.” In the clip, the couple sits arm-to-arm with two hosts and answers trivia questions like “What is the best alternative to toilet paper?” and “What is the most effective time period for COVID-19 quarantine?” It’s a bit concerning to see the couple in such close proximity to others when social distancing is supposed to be followed, but the channel owners tried to deflect that criticism with a disclaimer.
“The video you are about to watch was filmed last month at the Freedomists Studio in the midwest with less than half of our normal team members in order to minimize the number of people present,” the Freedomists’ statement read. “Our hope is that this video brings some healthy amusement and lightheartedness during this time of uncertainty, isolation, and social distance. Freedomists does not, nor does any of our guests, claim to be epidemiology or public health experts. This video is for entertainment purposes only and is not to be substituted for advice from medical professionals.”
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Despite the disclaimer, this clip was noticed by the “Duggar Snark” subbreddit, and was quickly piled on by users. They criticized the couple for not only violating social distancing protocol but also participating in a lighthearted video on such a serious topic. “Participating in trivia all about Coronavirus while actively not following the rules is such a Duggar move,” one Redditor wrote.
“She and Austin are just the stupidest. They keep going about their normal lives while she’s pregnant and totally disregarding the social distancing thing when hello?! There’s a pandemic!” another concerned Reddit user wrote. “Getting Corona for her would cause her to lose the baby in some cases, if not her life. Those Duggars are just not thinking. Smh.”
“I feel like doing coronavirus trivia is rather inappropriate,” a third added. “it’s not like some cute fun topic to ask questions about. People are dying.“
“Right, mass death is such a giggle. Oy,” another user sarcastically remarked. “God! That whole family is insufferable!” yet another wrote. “This isn’t a lighthearted topic to play games about. People are dying for goodness sake.” The couple have not responded to criticisms of the video as of press time.
