TLC pulls 19 Kids and Counting show from air after molestation reports

Only a handful of hours passed between the time the Duggar family, stars of the TLC show 19 Kids and Counting, posted on Facebook an admission that Josh Duggar sexually molested several underage girls in a series of incidents during the early 2000s, and when the network ran a marathon of shows starring Josh Duggar himself.

Real classy @TLC, airing a 19 Kids and Counting marathon tonight. Nice work.

— roxane gay (@rgay) May 22, 2015

The Duggar family's post responded to an earlier report on Thursday by InTouch Weekly magazine regarding Josh's father's involvement in withholding information from both family members and the police.

Josh Duggar's wife, Anna, is currently pregnant with the couple's fourth child; Anna appears to have written a message for the public, which is part of the Facebook post:

Josh Duggar also resigned from the Family Research Council on Thursday, according to statements reported in the Washington Post.

On Thursday night as the show aired to television subscribers, viewers posted comments on its TLC-run webpage; the comments ranged in their reaction to the news:

Viewers of 19 Kids and Counting react to the news. (Screenshot of TLC's 19 Kids and Counting webpage)

Update: A source within the network claims that during the afternoon hours, TLC replaced some of the episodes that later aired on Thursday night in order to minimize Josh Duggar's airtime. The source has asked to remain anonymous. We have reached out to TLC for a response to this claim.

Update, Friday May 22: TLC removed a second daytime block of 19 Kids and Counting from air and replaced it with episodes of The Little Couple.

The block was scheduled on for 12pm - 2pm ET, as reflected here in this photo taken at 11:20am at the Vox office in Washington, DC:

And a screenshot taken of TLC's online schedule shortly prior:

Update, Friday, 3:25pm ET: TLC is pulling all episodes of 19 Kids and Counting from air, according to a statement made by the network:

TLC statement: "Effective immediately, TLC has pulled all episodes of 19 Kids and Counting currently from the air"

— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) May 22, 2015

Explanatory journalism is a public good

At Vox, we believe that everyone deserves access to information that helps them understand and shape the world they live in. That's why we keep our work free. Support our mission and help keep Vox free for all by making a financial contribution to Vox today.

One-Time Monthly Annual

$95/year

$120/year

$250/year

$350/year

Other

$

Yes, I'll give $120/year

Yes, I'll give $120/year

We accept credit card, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. You can also contribute via