Anyone who follows the Duggar family knows that they’re never quiet on social media, even in the face of really terrible things happening to them.
Recently, the 10th daughter, Joy-Anna Duggar Forsyth, let fans know that she and her husband, Austin, lost their baby at five months. The pair posted a mournful picture to Instagram, with a tribute to their baby, whom they named Annabell.
Several fans, and the online magazine Patheos, are now accusing the Duggar family of exploiting this tragedy in Joy-Anna’s life for their own personal gain.
The website took umbrage with the fact that many of Joy-Anna’s siblings, as well as her parents, reposted the photo with messages of comfort, claiming it was for “extra attention.”
They were especially appalled by Jill Duggar Dillard’s post.
“The other Duggars have gone way out of their ways to exploit it for additional public attention. It’s disgusting and wrong for other family members to keep reposting their tragedy and.. well, take a look at this screen cap and read,” reads the scathing critique of the Duggars in Patheos.
See the Instagram post below.
Additionally, Joy-Anna’s best friend, Carlin Bates Stewart, flew out to see Joy and posted photos of Joy and Austin in the hospital, also with mournful faces. Although this wasn’t specifically attacked in Patheos, some fans found it distasteful.
It is reminiscent of earlier this year when Lauren Swanson Duggar announced she had a miscarriage, and the Duggar family posted an awkwardly posed photo of the pair on their main Instagram page.
The Duggars, however, live a very public life, and everything they do is for public consumption. Is it inappropriate? Maybe. But perhaps it’s just a way to process grief.