Jill Dillard (née Duggar) is under fire for hashtagging Counting On following the show’s cancellation amid family drama.
“When Fall Explodes! What’s your favorite season to decorate for?” the reality TV alum captioned a video with her kids, Israel and Samuel, on September 17. “#happyfallyall #falldecor #fall2021 #dillard #dillardfamily #jilldillard #duggar #countingon #pottershousethrift #porchdecor.”
In response, fans slammed the mother of two, who shares both of her children with husband Derick Dillard. “Oh, Jill. Have some pride. If I were her, I’d die before hashtagging the show (which is CANCELED, BTW),” one person wrote via reddit. A second added, “Jill has used that hashtag for a long time. She knows her parents’ brand gets her attention so she takes advantage of that,” while a third chimed in, “She’s not clueless. The show may be canceled but that’s where people know her from. That’s how she’s going to get found by people who liked the show and are more willing to spend $ on whatever she’s shilling.” A fourth, meanwhile, said, “Personally I think it’s tacky to promote a canceled show she’d quit years ago.”
Jill and Derick stepped back from the series that made them famous in 2017. Since then, fans have debated what exactly went down between the couple and the network. At the time, TLC released a statement condemning Derick’s transphobic comments about I Am Jazz star Jazz Jennings. The channel clarified they were no longer filming the Dillards, leading fans to draw the conclusion that the family was fired. However, in the years since, Derick made it clear that he and his wife were the ones to walk away from the franchise. Derick first claimed he and Jill quit the Duggars‘ show in April 2018 while talking to a fan on Twitter.
“They won’t tell you that I was ever fired because I wasn’t,” he claimed. “We wanted to leave and they didn’t want us to. That’s the truth.”
He further alleged in July 2020 that Jill’s father, Jim Bob Duggar, “will attack the victims if they threaten his show” and that he and his wife were “humiliated” when they first tried to quit. They were only able to leave once enough of Jill’s siblings had started filming and the show was “not dependent” on them to fill airtime.
Over the years, the duo’s relationship with Jim Bob and his wife, Michelle Duggar, has soured. Jill has been open about the fact that she’s “not on the best terms” with her family. During a YouTube Q&A in October 2020, she admitted they’ve “had some disagreements and stuff.”
As for Jim Bob and Michelle, they released a statement about their daughter’s remarks weeks later. “Every family has differences of opinion and perspective at times, but families work things out,” the reality couple told People in a statement on October 21. “We all love Jill, Derick and their boys very much. It is our prayer that our relationship is healed and fully restored quickly!”
Counting On was canceled in July 2021 amid Josh Duggar‘s child pornography case.