Derick Dillard Confirms That Jill Duggar Won’t Be On ‘Counting On’ When Show Returns
Jill Duggar and Derick Dillard’s Counting On days are definitely done, but some fans are still having a hard time believing that Derick walked away from the TLC reality series of his own accord. In response to these skeptics, the Duggar husband is now claiming that he was never actually employed by TLC.
As reported by CafeMom, Derick Dillard recently took to Twitter to proclaim that he was not “fired” by TLC. After he made transphobic remarks about Jazz Jennings, a teenage girl who stars on her own TLC series, the network released a statement saying that Derick “has not participated in Counting On for months.” Because of the timing of the statement, many people assumed that TLC had fired Derick. However, he insists that this isn’t true.
It’s been weeks since TLC tweeted about the end of its relationship with Derick Dillard, but he just recently attempted to set the record straight about why he will no longer be appearing on TV. As previously reported by the Inquisitr, he tweeted that he quit Counting On because his family was “heading in a different direction.” However, some fans were unsure whether this meant that his wife, Jill Duggar, had also ended her relationship with TLC. On Monday, Derick confirmed that this is the case. In response to a question from one of his Twitter followers, he revealed that his entire family has not been filming Counting On.
Correct
— Derick Dillard (@derickmdillard) December 18, 2017
There was some speculation that Counting On would be canceled altogether after Derick Dillard attacked Jazz Jennings, but TLC recently confirmed that the show will return sometime in Spring 2018. This news will delight many Duggar fans, but others will likely be disappointed that they won’t get to see the birth of Jill and Derick’s second son or get an update on what the couple is doing now that they’re no longer living in Central America.
As reported by the Hollywood Gossip, Jill Duggar and Derick Dillard have received a lot of criticism for asking fans to donate money to them, which is something they were doing before they parted ways with TLC. Derick was slammed for not using his Counting On paycheck to fund his ministry endeavors, but now he seems to be suggesting that he didn’t have a contract with TLC. This may mean that he was getting paid nothing or very little for appearing on Counting On.
In a series of recent tweets, Derick Dillard claimed that he “never worked” for TLC. He also called appearing on Counting On a “fake job.”
It is 7 kinds of illegal to fire someone and let the internet know first..TLC has a reputation to uphold so sorry, I don’t believe you.
— kwinter (@Frinnaurienna) December 16, 2017
Yes, I’m no longer doing it, but nowhere did they say that I was fired. Big difference. You can’t be fired from somewhere you never worked.
— Derick Dillard (@derickmdillard) December 18, 2017
That’s what’s so funny. I was fake fired from my fake job. PR must be their justification. See it is funny, you’re laughing too lol
— Derick Dillard (@derickmdillard) December 18, 2017
In another tweet, Derick accused TLC of announcing that it had cut ties with him when it did for “PR” purposes. He also revealed that he never had a “formal relationship” with the network.
I’m using these two statements (from TLC and Fox) to prove that I was never fired, as some others have accused. TLC most likely just felt it was a good time to say something for PR reasons, but they couldn’t say I was fired because they never had any formal relationship with me.
— Derick Dillard (@derickmdillard) December 18, 2017
However, Derick Dillard did not share any details about Jill Duggar’s TLC contract or whether she approved of his decision to leave the show. As reported by the Daily Beast, the Duggar daughters were brought up in a fundamentalist Christian belief system that encourages young women to relinquish control of their lives to the men they marry. They are taught to be submissive “helpmeets” who must trust their husbands to make important decisions for them — like when it’s time to walk away from a lucrative family reality show. According to In Touch Weekly, the Duggars likely make between $25,000 to 40,000 per episode of Counting On.
Jill Duggar may have to start spending a lot less time with her family now that she and Derick Dillard have cut ties with TLC. The network likes to focus on big family events that Jill has always been a part of, like weddings, baby showers, birthday parties, and holiday gatherings. However, now she’ll have to make sure to avoid the Counting On camera crew while these special occasions are being filmed.
Viewers will just have to wait until the show returns next year to see how TLC deals with the end of its relationship with Jill Duggar and Derick Dillard.
