Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar are publicly responding to the new Prime Video docuseries exposing their family’s past scandals.
In a statement issued via their official website Friday, the Duggars called Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets both “derogatory and sensationalized.”
“The recent ‘documentary’ that talks about our family is sad because in it we see the media and those with ill intentions hurting people we love. Like other families, ours too has experienced the joys and heartbreaks of life, just in a very public format,” the longtime couple said. “This ‘documentary’ paints so much and so many in a derogatory and sensationalized way because sadly that’s the direction of entertainment these days.”
Jim Bob, 57, and Michelle, 56, noted how they “have always believed that the best chance to repair damaged relationships, or to reconcile differences, is through love in a private setting.”
“We love every member of our family and will continue to do all we can to have a good relationship with each one,” they continued. “Through both the triumphs and the trials we have clung to our faith all the more and discovered that through the love and grace of Jesus, we find strength, comfort, and purpose.”
Shiny Happy People premiered Friday on Prime Video. The four-part limited series explores the Duggar family’s many scandals and their controversial religion, the Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP), at length.
Jill (Duggar) Dillard and her husband Derick Dillard, Amy (Duggar) King and her husband Dillon King, and Jim Bob’s sister Deanna Jordan all make appearances in the series.
In Shiny Happy People, the trouble surrounding eldest Duggar child Josh Duggar is a focal point.
Josh, 35, previously admitted to sexually abusing multiple young girls — including Jill, 32, and Jessa (Duggar) Seewald, 30 — when he was between 12 and 15 years old. He also later cheated on wife Anna Duggar, 34, paying a woman for an affair after meeting her on Ashley Madison.
Josh was later sentenced to more than 12 years for receiving and possessing child sexual abuse materials.
Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets is now streaming in full on Prime Video.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.