THE DUGGAR matriarch, Michelle, admitted to cropping her rebellious daughter Jill out of a family photo.
Jill and her husband Derick Dillard have been in an ongoing feud with Jim Bob Duggar after the law student was banned from the show.
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Michelle, 53, took to Instagram to share a series of photos of Joy and Austin’s baby shower as they eagerly await the 18th Duggar granddaughter.
“Several weeks ago we were able to celebrate Joy and Austin and their precious baby on the way!,” shared the Counting On star on Tuesday.
“We are rejoicing in God’s gift of this little girl that He has graciously given their family.
“We can’t wait to meet her soon!!”
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To the shock of many fans of the show, Jill, 29, had actually put aside her differences with her parents and was present at the baby shower despite missing her father’s birthday bash.
Unfortunately, she was cropped out of a photo and Michelle herself admitted doing it on purpose.
When a fan asked her where Jill was, others quickly responded that although she was in one of the photos, she had been cropped out of the last one.
“You can only fit so many in a square photo! Waned to include some of the grandkids too,” answered Michelle to defend her actions.
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Jill being cropped out of a photo intentionally comes just a few weeks after Derick – with whom she shares two sons – called for the other siblings to break free from the family.
In a series of comments posted on Instagram, Derick was asked if any of Jill’s brothers and sisters will “break free” from their father’s control and he replied: “I sure hope so.”
Other comments reveal Derick calls Jim Bob “the boss” and that he is only feuding with the father of 19 and not the rest of the family.
“It has messed with my family,” he wrote of the TLC show, adding: “People should address their issues instead of sweeping them under the rug.”
He also criticized the network for allowing Jim Bob to feature heavily in the series, as it was originally sold as a spin-off focusing on the children.
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On May 22, 2015, TLC suspended the series when the Duggars’ eldest son Josh publicly apologized for having “acted inexcusably” following reports that he molested five girls, including some of his sisters, by fondling them.
These events occurred in 2002 and 2003, when he was 14 to 15, and prior to the beginning of the show.
Counting On premiered seven months later.
“I don’t understand why [19 Kids & Counting] was canceled,” shared Derick before claiming that the series is “still under [Jim Bob’s] control, and he will attack the victims if they threaten his show.”
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The father-of-two also claimed that Jim Bob had tried to force him to sign an NDA in 2019 but that “the truth” was more important, and that the show had “begged” Jill and Derick to return but they refused.
“We were humiliated and threatened when we first tried to not film,” he added.
“Now it’s not dependent on us anymore to keep the show going because more kids got married, so it’s more OK if we quit.”
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Derick was fired from the show in 2017 after derogatory comments towards Jazz Jennings, another TLC star. However, he has always maintained that he left months before the incident.
Following the new season premiere, Derick has been vocal on social media against the series, and changed his bio to call himself a “reformed Counting On star.”
Jill and Derick have distanced themselves further from the family in recent months, with Derick telling The Sun exclusively they are banned from the family compound when Jim Bob is not there.
Derick added: “I think he’s mainly worried about the influence we might have on his children.”
The law student continued: “Because our visitation to the Duggar house has been restricted and that is where they and their spouses hang out, we have not been able to see other family as much as we would like, so that is difficult.
“We do try to invite brothers and sisters-in-law over as much as they can come.”
