Former reality show star Jill Duggar Dillard has never received any payment for appearing in TLC's 19 Kids and Counting or its spinoff Counting On.
Although Jill walked away from TLC in 2017 to raise her own family, she still has plenty to say about the decade she was featured on her family's reality shows.
Jill doesn't hold back in her tell-all memoir, Counting The Cost, which chronicles her life and the toll filming the reality show eventually took on her ultra-conservative Christian family.
In the memoir, Jill claims she never received any payment for appearing on the shows, but her brother, Josh Duggar, did.
According to Counting The Cost, when Jill and her husband, Derick Dillard, asked the family patriarch, Jim Bob, about being paid for their appearances on 19 Kids and Counting, he allegedly balked, saying that the show existed to “share with the world that Children are a blessing.”
When Derick insisted they deserved a portion of the income, Jill writes Jim Bob allegedly confessed that he used to pay Josh but stopped because it “wasn't a good idea.”
Jill wrote that this revelation led to arguments between herself and her father, with Jill at one point angrily telling her father, “You treat me worse than you treat my abusive brother.”
Her 35-year-old brother, Josh Duggar, is currently serving a 12-year sentence for possessing child abuse images and has previously been accused of molesting his siblings.
Jim Bob Duggar Offered His Kids $80,000 Each for Working On TLC Shows
After Jill and Derick asked about compensation, Jill claimed Jim Bob and Michelle sat their older kids down and offered them a single payment of $80,000 each to “start their lives.”
While the rest of her siblings were elated, Jill and Derick, suspicious of Jim Bob, decided not to sign the paperwork they were presented with, as they were convinced her father had ulterior motives for the move and a lot more money.
They later discovered that Jim Bob's production company, Mad Family Inc., had made roughly $8 million.
Jim Bob eventually paid Jill $175,000 after she took him to court. Writing about the ordeal, Jill reminisced, “After all, thirteen years as a filming family had taught me that everything has a cost. Plus, Pops' lifestyle alone told us that the show had generated a lot more than the equivalent of eighty thousand dollars each.”
Jill recently told People Magazine that she and her father “do not have one-on-one contact.”
In response to her claims in Counting The Cost, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar released the following statement: “We love all of our children very much. As with any family, few things are more painful than conflicts or problems among those you love. We've aimed to deal honorably with our children, finances, and other endeavors. While imperfect, it is our intent and desire to live a life that honors Christ.
“We do not believe the best way to resolve conflicts, facilitate forgiveness and reconciliation, or communicate through difficulties is through the media or in a public forum, so we will not comment. As the future unfolds, we will continue to love our family, pray for them, and enjoy every moment gifted to us to be parents and grandparents.”
Source: (People).