Josh Duggar’s Resurfaced Comment to Jessa Duggar Leaves ‘Counting On’ Fans Uncomfortable

An old Instagram comment from Josh Duggar on a photo of his sister Jessa Duggar Seewald has resurfaced, and considering the allegations of sexual abuse and recent child, pornography arrest have made it extra creepy in hindsight. Reddit dug up an old photo of Jessa and her husband Ben Seewald from 2013, where Josh had left the comment “I’m watching you [eyes emoji],” which he may have intended to come off as brotherly and protective, but reads as disturbing in context. “and the FBI is watching you josh [laughing out loud],” quipped one Redditor.

“I think he was trying to be all ‘relatable big brother’ but because of who he is and what we now know it comes off creepy,” wrote one commenter. “A normal big brother saying that would be fine. Coming from a brother that assaulted you is creepy,” another agreed, however, another pointed out that it was “still paternalistic and gross either way.” Ultimately, the commenters decided that the comment was completely upsetting. “I think we can rule out ‘protective big brother’ since he was the person his sisters needed to be protected from,” wrote one Reddit user. “If I was ignorant of all the sh– he’s done I’d consider it weird. Now it sounds downright nefarious,” wrote another.

Jessa and her sister Jill Dillard came forward in 2015 and explained that when he was a teenager, Josh had allegedly molested them in their childhood home. Jessa was 9 or 10 when the abuse occurred. “In Josh’s case, he was a young boy in puberty and a little too curious about girls,” she told Megyn Kelly. “And that got him into some trouble.”

Josh is currently at the center of an FBI investigation and was recently arrested for the alleged receipt and ownership of child pornography. Duggar has since been released on bond and is staying with a family friend. He is prohibited from having contact with minors, other than his own children. The father-of-six is reportedly allowed “unlimited contact” with his kids, but his wife, Anna — who is currently pregnant with the couple’s seventh child — must be present for the visits. His trial is set to begin in July.

Duggar has not commented on his arrest, nor the charges he faces, but his lawyers Justin Gelfand, Travis W. Story, and Greg Payne issued a joint statement on his charges. “Josh Duggar has been charged in a two-count indictment. He has pled not guilty to both charges and we intend to defend this case aggressively and thoroughly,” they said. “In this country, no one can stop prosecutors from charging a crime. But when you’re accused, you can fight back in the courtroom — and that is exactly what Josh intends to do.”