Throughout Josh Duggar’s child pornography trial, Amy Duggar made it clear that she believed her disgraced cousin was guilty, and that she hoped he would be convicted.
Usually without mentioning him by name, Amy repeatedly called Josh out as irredeemably evil, suggesting that locking him up for life was the only way to stop him from claiming more victims.
So we know that Amy can be relied on to give her honest assessment of situations involving her family.
Which is why so many have been waiting for her take on the latest Jana drama.
As you may already know, it was revealed last week that Jana has been charged with endangering the welfare of a child.
According to a new report from In Touch, the Elms Springs, Arkansas district clerk confirmed that the charges were filed on December 10, stemming from an incident that took place in September.
Jana has pled not guilty to the misdemeanor charge against her, and her case is scheduled to go to trial in January.
It’s still not clear exactly what happened, but insiders say a child who was in Jana’s care wandered off and was eventually located by police more than two miles from home.
Sources close to Jana have indicated that she was either distracted or fell asleep while caring for multiple kids.
More information will surely become available once her case goes to trial.
In the meantime, Amy is shedding some light on the situation via her Instagram page.
“I will call out what is right and I will call out what is wrong,” the mother of one wrote in an Instagram Story over the weekend.
“This couldn’t have been intentional. Thank God the child was OK and found!”
Amy then switched to addressing Jana directly, expressing her sympathy for the long-suffering 31-year-old.
“I bet you were exhausted, stressed and just emotionally worn out,” Amy continued in her statement. “
Watching multiple kids is hard! Bc there’s so many of them and you only have two eyes! It’s a very sad situation going on and my heart goes out to @janamduggar love you.”
If Jana was simply overworked, that won’t come as a surprise to fans.
The eldest daughter of Jim Bob and Michelle has been nicknamed “the Cinderella Duggar,” due to the amount of chores she performs around the household.
While the rest of her siblings have married and left the nest in order to start families of their own, Jana has stayed behind and continued to shoulder many of the burdens of her parents’ decision to have 19 children.
The fact Jim Bob and Michelle’s eldest son and daughter were both charged with serious crimes over the course of the past year, probably has more to do with that decision than with Jana’s ability to look after her siblings.
Women in the Duggars’ community are discouraged from expressing any sort of negative emotions, so when someone in Jana’s position is stressed to the breaking point, those around her might have no idea.
Amy addressed this phenomenon in a recent Instagram post.
“Thankful for you and how you taught me it’s OK to express my emotions,” she wrote, alongside a photo of her son.
“I can’t imagine being controlled in every way possible including my honest feelings,” Amy continued.
“Being ‘happy’ all the time isn’t attainable. That’s not how life is, and you shouldn’t have to force a smile if that’s not how you’re truly feeling. I will teach my son that being authentic is what the Lord asks of us. Love you, mom. Always.”
Most commenters applauded Amy’s courage and candor.
But one encouraged her to be less critical of her friends and family
“Everything you say does not have to be a passive-aggressive dog at others,” this person wrote.
Laura DeMasie, who Duggar fans know as the best friend of Jana Duggar replied to that comment with “Amen.”
This led Amy to clap back at the longtime Duggar family associate, writing:
“I will speak the truth and inform everyone how IBLP is harmful and destructive.”
IBLP is the Institute for Basic Life Principles — the shady organization that gave Jim Bob and Michelle many of their beliefs.
So within the space of a few days, Amy defended Jana and fired a public shot at her best friend.
There’s always been a lot of drama in the Duggar family, but these days, it’s all bubbling right to the surface.
