14 DAY TRIAL // TLC’s worst case scenario situation in the Duggar case is coming true. The network had hoped to keep the Duggars’ show 19 Kids and Counting on the air and just fire Josh Duggar, a self-confessed child molester, and still have support from advertisers, but it’s just not happening.
TMZ reports that major advertisers are dropping the show like a hot potato, in the wake of Josh’s admission that he molested 5 minor girls, some of whom were his sisters, when he was 14 and 15 years old.
General Mills was the first to do so, as more details in the shocking case emerged, including the fact that Josh’s parents, Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar, tried to cover up what he’d done, even lying to the police.
Wallgreens, Payless ShoeSource and Choice Hotels are doing the same, issuing a statement to say that they will no longer have their ads running during future episodes of the series.
Of course, chances are that there will be no more future episodes, since without advertisers, TLC is left with very little else to do but to cancel the show. As we speak, 19 Kids and Counting is on indefinite hiatus, but the situation is looking dire for the network’s biggest brand.