Josh Duggar Returns To TV? Advertisers Flee Jill And Jessa Show Due To Duggars Sex Scandals

Josh Duggar, once known as the oldest son of the 19 Kids and Counting reality TV family before he became embroiled in multiple sex scandals, may be poised to return to the small screen if his mother, Michelle, has her way. But while Josh’s mom wants him to stage his comeback on Counting On, the spin-off show featuring his sisters, Jill and Jessa are determined to halt their brother, according to Hollywood Life.

All this drama is happening when the camera is turned off. Duggar reportedly is causing even more problems for his family, with his parents on Team Josh and the rest of their big brood reportedly opposed.

Now 28, the scandal-tattered oldest son has remained away from the TV cameras since his return from the faith-based rehab facility that allegedly treated him for a sex addiction. However, his parents apparently feel that enough time has passed for their son to become one of the stars of Jill & Jessa: Counting On. However, if Jill, 25, and Jessa, 23, can prevent it, they will, according to an insider cited by Hollywood Life.

“There has been a revolt within the Duggars.”

Although the image that the Duggars try to present to the public is of a perfectly “fine” family, within the walls of their home, it’s war, says the source.

“Everything seems fine in public, but inside the Duggar family home in Arkansas, it has been all-out war as Jim Bob and Michelle face off against their older children,” revealed the insider.

Josh’s parents reportedly believe that having Duggar make his debut on Counting On is a way to regain respect and support following the multiple sex scandals. However, his brothers and sisters, in particular Jill and Jessa, disagree. Moreover, Jim Bob and Michelle now feel that the situation has caused a rift in the family that will be challenging to heal, added the source.

“[Josh’s parents] are now distraught and convinced the family is so fractured and broken apart that it’s beyond repair.”

Jill and Jessa reportedly wanted the younger Duggar children to appear on the show rather than Josh, hoping that the youngsters in the family would provide a way to focus on the “happy old” days prior to the revelation that Duggar “was a child molester,” according to the insider.

“Jill and Jessa both really thought Counting On should focus more on some of their younger siblings, that the gentle fun they spotlighted would harken back to the Duggars’ happy old 19 Kids and Counting shows from two or three years ago, before it was made public Josh was a child molester,” explained the insider.

In addition to the child molestation allegations, the sex scandals revolving around Duggar included his confession that he was addicted to porn and that he had cheated on his wife. The older boys have forgiven Josh for what reportedly occurred years ago, but are having issues with the more current scandals.

“Josh’s siblings have forgiven Josh for what he did years ago,” revealed the source.

“It was harder for them to accept that he would bring shame to them again [with his cheating and porn scandal].”

At this point, the war in the family has made a dramatic change to the relationship between the Duggar children and their parents.

“Jim Bob and Michelle are really suffering because they’ve found themselves to be at war with their own children — all because they wanted to do something they thought would help Josh,” clarified another insider cited by Hollywood Life. “They see this as the ultimate betrayal.”

However, one of the ongoing questions for the Duggar family spin-off has been whether it can attract enough advertisers to survive, regardless of which offspring are the stars. Advertisers are fleeing rather than flocking to Counting On, according to In Touch.

During the first season, more than 12 companies who had purchased cable TV time without knowing they would end up being aired on the Duggar family’s new TV show reacted with protests because of Josh’s scandals.

Four additional companies have now released announcements that they were shocked to discover their ads had been broadcast on Jill & Jessa: Counting On following the debut of the second season.

“The Gerber Life ad was inadvertently shown during the premiere of Counting On. We have been assured that Gerber Life ads will no longer be shown during this program,” stated that company.

Trivago also issued a statement disassociating itself from the Duggar show.

“We did not have control over when the advertisement ran, as it was a direct response buy. We did not purposely intend to advertise during any specific TLC program,” noted Trivago.

Thumbtack.com revealed that a question on whether it had planned to have an ad broadcast during the Duggar family show resulted in an internal discussion, also emphasizing that it was purchasing TV ad space for networks rather than specific programs.

In addition, Hotwire revealed that it now planned to flee the show as well.

“Hotwire’s ads appear on many cable networks including AMC, Bravo, HGTV, TNT, TBS, USA as well as TLC Network,” clarified the company. “While we are able to select which cable networks air our ads, we do not select the specific shows. After further consideration we have decided to remove this network from our plan.”

[Photo by Danny Johnston/AP Images]