TLC is really not having a good month. After the horrifying scandal surrounding one of the networks' biggest shows, Here Comes Honey Boo Boo resulted in the show's (rightful) cancellation, it looks like their other biggest show, 19 Kids and Counting could be a goner soon too — that is, if this petition gets its way. According to The Huffington Post, thousands of people have signed a petition calling for 19 Kids and Counting to be canceled, due to the family's discriminating statements and views against the LGBTQ community.
19 Kids And Counting, which follows the conservative Christian — and massive — Duggar family, has come under fire many times before due to their controversial views about sexism, religion, and sexuality: In September, one of the family's older daughters, Jessa Duggar, posted a deeply offensive statement on her Instagram comparing blaming the holocaust on evolution and comparing it to abortion, and in August, Michelle Duggar recorded a horrifically transphobic robocall to protest a bill that would help promote equality for transgendered individuals. And sadly, that's all just the tip of the iceberg.
The petition, which is on Change.org, was started in August, and just recently began gaining attention. At the time of this post, the petition has over 25,000 signatures — and it's still growing.
In a statement sent to TLC protesting the show, the organizer of the petition wrote, "End LGBTQ fear mongering by the Duggars. The Duggars have been using their fame to promote discrimination, hate, and fear-mongering against gays and transgendered people. You need to take a stand on the side of justice and cancel their show."
Though TLC has made no comment about the petition or their plans for the show, it does raise some interesting questions about the line between promoting the family's views and merely showcasing them in the show. The network canceled Here Comes Honey Boo Boo because they did not want to appear as if they were promoting the decision of family matriarch Mama June to date a convicted child molester — so under that logic, by running 19 Kids and Counting, are they promoting the decision of the Duggars to hold offensive views about the LGBTQ community? Or, considering the show doesn't delve into said views (and considering everyone is entitled to their own personal beliefs), are they merely showcasing the lives of a family that happens to be very, very, very large?
19 Kids and Counting has aired on TLC since 2008.
