Jinger Duggar saw how TLC edited her family. And sometimes, she really didn’t like it.
Though it was more than just reality television that traumatized Jinger Duggar, growing up on camera definitely left its mark.
At times, TLC seemed to reject authentic portrayals of family outings.
Jinger Duggar is opening up about times when TLC edited the family to manufacture fake conflicts.
As with so many YouTubers, Jinger Duggar ends her video by asking people to like, subscribe, and turn on notifications for her video and channel. That might take some commitment. (Image Credit: Jinger Duggar/YouTube)
The Duggars didn’t like how TLC edited them, Jinger Duggar reveals
On the Wednesday, October 30 episode of The Jinger & Jeremy Podcast that she shares with husband Jeremy Vuolo, Jinger Duggar opened up about growing up on reality television.
“Maybe we felt like some things might have started to be cut in a way that we didn’t like it,” she reflected.
Jinger recalled that, during her years on 19 Kids and Counting and on Counting On, sometimes “it was like, ‘I didn’t say that.’”
There are just so many Duggars. And here so many of them are, all in one majestic photograph. (Image Credit: TLC)
“Or I rolled my eyes in an interview [then] they put in there next to something I said about my mom and dad,” Jinger Duggar cited as an example of how footage was edited. “And it was like, ‘No I didn’t mean that.’”
That is actually extremely common for reality television. Any reality star whose expressions, words, and reactions have never been edited into a new context is either not very entertaining or has veto power over editing choices.
According to Jinger Duggar, she and her family would watch “rough cuts” before they were edited for TV. Then, they’d watch it on TLC to “see if they put in anything like that.”
At the table, Jinger Duggar and Joy-Anna Duggar enjoy their dinner. (Image Credit: Jinger Duggar/YouTube)
Why did the Duggar family watch their own edited show?
Jinger Duggar thought back to how the Duggars would relive their own experiences, such as a “fun trip” that they’d taken while filming.
“It’s like our home videos really,” she characterized. “Because so many years before it came out, my parents were really good about taking home videos of those” trips.
However, Jinger lamented that more authentic home videos had “faded into the background.” Over time, TLC aired “fully produced home videos” that they’d edited for television.
The Duggars were years into airing Counting On for this promo photo. Fortunately, the series has since come to an end. (Image Credit: TLC)
19 Kids and Counting aired on TLC starting in 2008. This was around the time when the network began attempting to showcase white Christian families in order to capture a reality TV audience that wouldn’t enjoy, say, Bravo’s programming.
That horrible show ran until 2015. Josh Duggar’s scandal — not merely his cheating, but the revelation that he had sexually abused multiple young girls, including four of his younger sisters — prompted TLC to cancel the show. Sort of.
From 2015 until 2020, TLC aired Counting On. It was effectively the same show, with more and more family appearing on the spinoff. Josh Duggar never did … but his CSAM arrest was enough to put the final nail in the Duggar reality TV empire’s coffin.
Joy-Anna Duggar and Jinger Duggar enjoy a sunny day out shopping with their families in L.A. (Image Credit: Jinger Duggar/YouTube)
Those reality TV days are, thankfully, behind them
Anyone wanting to follow Jinger Duggar’s pursuits can keep up with her podcast, her social media, and of course with her books. And she’s not the only one of her siblings who’s taken to writing about her life.
One recent piece of news is that Jinger is pregnant. She and husband Jeremy Vuolo are expecting their third child.
The best thing about keeping up with Duggars in this way is that you’re not putting money into Jim Bob Duggar’s pockets.
Jinger Duggar Hated How TLC Edited Her Family: ‘I Never Said That!’ was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.