Joy-Anna and Austin Forsyth are facing backlash after a recent Instagram post led some fans to draw the conclusion that they had skipped out on Grandma Mary Duggar’s funeral.
On Saturday, June 15, the couple took to their Instagram account to share a brand new photo just a week after Grandma Mary Duggar’s death: a photo of themselves on what appeared to be an airplane.
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Grandma Mary Duggar, the mother of Jim Bob, passed away on Sunday, June 9 of an accidental drowning in her swimming pool at her home in Springdale, Arkansas. She was 78.
Although seemingly innocent, the photo sparked critic from one person, who questioned why the Forsyth’s were on a plane and not surrounded by their family.
“Are you on an airplane? What about your grandmother’s funeral?” one of the couple’s followers questioned, the comment garnering multiple likes.
In a second comment, that same user criticized the couple for their smiling faces in the midst of such tragic news, writing, “I know that when my family is on [mourning] we don’t smile for photos.”
The comments quickly drew backlash from other fans of the Counting On couple, with many responding defending the photo.
“Maybe she is flying home?” one person suggested.
“Assumptions start rumors,” another wrote. “You have assumed they are on an airplane and that they would not attend the funeral…let’s stick with the facts.”
“1st. This picture may have been taken before Mary’s death,” a third wrote. “2nd people deal with death differently doesn’t make them wrong.”
Another user pointed out that the couple appeared to be in Jill (Duggar) Vuolo’s social media post paying homage to Grandma Mary on the day of her funeral.
Grandma Mary, who had appeared on the Duggar family’s TLC series 19 Kids and Counting and Counting On, was laid to rest on Monday, June 17 during a touching service that was attended by the dozens of members of her family.
Following the service, many of her grandchildren took to social media to pay their respects, and while the Forsyth’s did not post about the service, they had paid homage to Grandma Mary in a post shortly after her death.
