Duggar Couple Slammed for Enjoying ‘Animal Abuse’

One Duggar couple’s date night took an unfortunate turn after they shared the fun on social media.

Austin and Joy-Anna (Duggar) Forsyth snapped a series of photos at a rodeo in Fort Worth, Texas on Sunday, sharing their smiles with the dirt arena behind them, as well as a couple of shots of the bull-riding action.

“We had a great time at the Fort Worth Stockyard. I grew up going to Texas rodeos but this is our first together,” the couple wrote on Instagram, adding the hashtags “#thelonestarstate #texan #bullriding.”

But fans weren’t impressed with their choice of outings and accused the Counting On couple of supporting animal cruelty by attending the event.

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“Rodeos are barbaric and very abusive to the animals,” one follower wrote. Another added, “The treatment of animals in rodeos is actually very cruel. It’s unfortunate that many people don’t make that connection and just look at it as entertainment.”

Others cited the newlyweds’ Christian values as a way to shame them for watching the bull riders.

“What is wrong with you two? One minute blasting anti abortion messages in our faces. The next you endorse animal cruelty… Maybe you should both stay off social media… weird values you have!” a commenter wrote on the Forsyth’s joint Instagram account.

“As a Christian, I would’ve assumed that you loved all of God’s creatures?” another asked. “How you can sit back and watch this cruel ‘sport’ is beyond me. Shame on you?!! Go and educate yourself.”

The Forsyths are no strangers to controversy in recent months.

The couple married in May and announced in August they were expecting their first child, due in early March 2018.

Joy-Anna announced the pregnancy with a series of photos that showed the first glimpse of her baby bump, which some fans thought was rather large for her stage in gestation.

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Some wondered if the couple was expecting twins, while others pondered whether they may have broken their rules of courtship and became pregnant out of wedlock. (The Duggar family’s conservative values include remaining chaste until marriage with everything from hugging straight-on to kissing and having sex.)

Joy-Anna and her husband Austin have been accused of having a shotgun wedding in the past, especially after they moved their wedding up nearly six months from October 2017 to May.

And at brother Joseph’s wedding last month, fans of the reality family thought Joy-Anna looked too big for her pregnancy timeline.

While the newlyweds have admitted to breaking some courtship rules, fornication isn’t one of them.

Photo credit: Instagram / @austinandjoyforsyth