Entertainment
Jill Duggar Cried Over Jim Bob Confrontation About Pants: Book Takeaways on September 12, 2023 at 11:00 am Us Weekly
Courtesy of Jill Duggar/Instagram
After her dramatic departure from the Counting On spotlight, Jill Duggar is ready to share her side of the story.
Duggar, 32, opened up like never before in her new book, Counting the Cost, about growing up in front of TLC cameras with her famous family — and the various costs that came with fame. Her memoir touches on her experience in the Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP) faith, her exit from reality TV and her newfound independence (which includes a big change to her once modest dress code).
Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar’s daughter also shed light on her brother Josh Duggar’s scandals, from his 2015 Ashley Madison apology to his 2021 arrest for child pornography. Through it all, Jill has leaned on her husband, Derick Dillard, for support. (The couple share sons Israel, Samuel and Frederick.)
In an author’s note, Jill assures readers that her goal in writing her book was not to “shame” her family or “get their attention” amid their estrangement. Days before the book dropped on Tuesday, September 12, Jim Bob, 58, and Michelle, 56, issued a statement regarding some of Jill’s claims.
“We love all of our children very much,” they noted. “As with any family, few things are more painful than conflicts or problems among those you love. … We do not believe the best way to resolve conflicts, facilitate forgiveness and reconciliation, or to communicate through difficulties is through the media or in a public forum so we will not comment.”
Counting the Cost is available now. Scroll down for the book’s biggest bombshell revelations:
On Dressing Modestly
In chapter 1, Jill recalled a childhood family trip to the beach in Georgia feeling overwhelming due to her modest upbringing. “I didn’t want to get any bad thoughts into my head, so I tried not to stare,” she said of the beachgoers in their bathing suits. “But it was hard not to, and I worried for Pops and my brothers. Us girls had been told often how much harder it was for boys to keep their thoughts pure. I couldn’t imagine the battles they were fighting out there on the sand.”
Jill further revealed that her family had a code word they would use — “Nike” — when they spotted women out and about who weren’t dressed modestly to remind them to look away.
As Jill grew older, she began to develop her own thoughts about the merits of the modesty guidelines she was taught. In chapter 7, she credited her sister Jinger with “inspiring” her to step outside of her comfort zone and recalled turning to her husband for support. (Jinger has also opted to start wearing pants — and even sported a pair of ripped jeans in 2021.)
After welcoming her second son, Samuel, in 2017, Jill wore leggings in public for the first time but remained partially covered up while nursing her newborn. She was confronted by her father a few days after the outing and given a book about modesty.
“I cried when I got home. I felt embarrassed, humiliated, even though nobody else had been in the room with us,” Jill wrote. “Pops had told us ever since we were little that we needed to be able to stand up for our convictions, even if others disagreed. Why couldn’t he see that by deciding to wear pants, I was doing exactly what he taught us? All my life I’d been trying to show respect to Pops, but when was he going to show the same to me?”
On the Fallout of Josh’s Behavior
When Jill was 11, her parents approached her to talk about her brother Josh, who had “confessed about some stuff he’s done.” He was sent away for a few months to participate in a program developed by the IBLP. Jill wrote in chapter 2 that her family “didn’t talk much” about what had happened.
“Mom and Pops gave us the bare details about Josh, and so all I really knew was that he’d been sent away to stay with some of their friends, that he would be working construction, and that hopefully it wouldn’t be long before he would return to us. That was all,” she recalled. “I was happy to move on and put it all behind me.”
Before leaving for his training, Josh told a girl he had been courting about his actions. She allegedly wrote him a letter about the situation but never sent it, instead choosing to keep it hidden in a book, which she later lent to a friend. The friend informed church leaders about the letter, which then tipped off an investigation about a “potentially abusive situation.”
Jill was “terrified” that “someone was going to take us away” from Jim Bob and Michelle.
Courtesy of Jill Duggar/Instagram
“The fallout was immense,” she wrote. “We didn’t know who we could trust, who was for us and who was against us.”
News eventually broke in June 2015 that a police report was filed against Josh, who was accused of molesting multiple girls as a teenager. Jill and her sister Jessa, who were identified as victims, defended their family at the time in an interview with Megyn Kelly. Jill revealed in her book that Josh was in the room with them while the interview was being filmed.
On the Ashley Madison Scandal
Two months after making headlines for his past molestation, Josh was involved in the Ashley Madison data breach. He admitted in an August 2015 statement that he watched pornography and had been unfaithful to his wife, Anna. In chapter 5 of her book, Jill recalled texting her brother for answers.
“I wanted to hear directly from him, to know whether there was any truth to the rumors,” she wrote. Josh never replied. (He was sent to a Christian-run rehab in Illinois called Reformers Unanimous.)
Jill, meanwhile, began to grow uncomfortable with how steadfast her parents were in their support for Josh. “Though I love my parents and it made a lot of sense that they would want to protect and care for their child, I couldn’t help but think about the lengths that Pops had gone to in order to guard Josh’s privacy and keep him from being publicly humiliated. … The feelings grew stronger within me, and by the time I went to bed I felt sick to my core,” she wrote.
As more questions arose, Jill started to struggle with the IBLP teachings and the expectation that she would also take her brother’s side.
On Wanting to Be Paid
In chapter 5, Jill remembered sitting down with her husband and her father to discuss payment for their work on the family’s TLC series. According to Jill, Jim Bob reminded them that the show was an “opportunity to share with the world that children are a blessing.”
Dillard proceeded to ask if they could have a small percentage of the profits, but Jim Bob said it “wasn’t a very good idea,” arguing that Michelle should be paid before anyone else because she “had all these kids.” Jim Bob said he paid “some of the others who work for me” an hourly rate ($10-12) for appearing on the show.
Jill later described a family meeting during which Jim Bob announced he planned to give the boys in the family $80,000 — and credited Dillard for the idea. Jill felt like the shout-out was a “trigger” because of what they went through trying to get money for the show. She and her husband were suspicious about the offer and thought “there was some angle” Jim Bob wasn’t being fully honest about.
In order to get the money, Dillard and the other boys would have to sign a contract with Mad Family Inc. for an additional seven years — “plus an unlimited number of years beyond that if the company chose.” The contract also included a lifelong NDA. Jill and Dillard declined the deal. “$80,000 was a lot of money, but these strings were tight enough to choke,” Jill wrote.
On Leaving ‘Counting On’
While in El Salvador for a mission trip, Jill and her husband were consistently asked by producers to return home to film — and repeatedly said no. They were reminded of a contract they signed requiring them to go back, but neither one of them could recall signing the documents. (Jill previously shared a similar anecdote in Prime Video’s Shiny Happy People.)
Jim Bob got involved, insisting that the couple return home to be on camera, claiming the show would fail if they didn’t help. “If you don’t come to shoot this and TLC cancels the show again, everyone is going to look at you and know that it’s your fault and that you could have stopped it. Are you gonna be OK carrying that burden?” Jill recalled her father asking.
Jill and Dillard eventually gave in and flew home, but the incident was the catalyst for their decision to leave Counting On entirely. The couple were interested in working with the International Mission Board, but the organization would only collaborate if they quit the show. “The fallout was instantaneous,” Jill wrote of attempting to get out of the contract.
The pair finally departed Counting On in 2017 after denying the show’s request to film Jill giving birth to Samuel. Jill confessed in chapter 6 that she didn’t “remember much at all about the last interviews” she filmed for the show.
“I know what I was feeling — a mix of sorrow and gratitude, or relief and anxiety, of feeling happy that this was all behind us now at the same time as wondering what was coming next — but I don’t recall what we said. … Part of me still wonders why they didn’t bother to explain to viewers why we left. Part of me knows that it didn’t matter,” she wrote.
On Starting Birth Control
Jill had an emergency C-section while delivering her second son. The baby’s heartbeat was unstable, and the procedure was underway before Jill received anesthesia. “This is it, Jill. This is where you and the baby die. This is the end,” she remembered thinking. “There’s no more need to tough it out.”
Samuel spent some time in the NICU after his arrival, and Jill decided to go on birth control — a controversial choice in her family. (Doctors recommend avoiding pregnancy for at least 18 months after a C-section.) Jill “kept it a secret from nearly everyone” and felt guilty, despite knowing she was making the right choice for her health.
“I was devastated at the thought of not being able to have more kids, and I felt like my fertility had been robbed from me,” she wrote. “But also, dare I say it, I was somewhat relieved. The devastation far outweighed the relief, but there was a small part of me that appreciated the excuse not to have to go through a zillion pregnancies and deliveries.”
On Her Financial Struggles
Despite leaving Counting On, Jill and Dillard continued to lose out on mission work because there was no record of their contracts being nullified. The twosome drafted a letter to Jim Bob, to which he responded by apologizing for his “controlling spirit and lack of sensitivity.”
The pair later received a notice from the IRS indicating they earned $130,000 more than they ever got. Jill and her husband were inspired to have a sit-down with Jim Bob and Michelle (and a mediator) in order to sort out their issues. After three hours, the meeting ended with “not much in the way of resolution,” she wrote.
Jill and Dillard eventually pursued therapy, but the twosome’s financial burdens escalated while Dillard was in law school. They asked Jim Bob for the money they were owed — and he retorted with a lengthy outline of everything he spent on them over the years, ultimately offering a measly $2,000.
“For all the progress we were making in therapy, for all the desire we had to be on good terms with family and work things out, that email set us back a long way. It felt cold. It felt brutal. It hurt,” Jill wrote. “It seemed Pops wasn’t being generous when we thought he was being generous in the past.”
The couple then asked to see the 2014 contract they were swayed into signing, causing Jim Bob to go “ballistic.” When the dispute was “finally resolved,” Jill and Dillard received $175,000. “I never knew that victory could feel so hollow or so overwhelmingly sad,” she wrote.
On Being ‘Willing’ to Testify Against Josh
In chapter 9, Jill opened up about her brother’s 2021 arrest and subsequent trial for receipt and possession of child pornography. “These charges were way more serious than I’d expected, and I was in shock to hear how terrible the crimes he was accused of were,” she wrote.
Jill was encouraged to avoid reading about the trial because she was on the prosecution’s witness list. She recalled feeling “willing to” take the stand even though it was a “sobering” thought.
“I wanted to know the truth. I wanted the evidence to come out. And I wanted Josh to be put away for a very long time,” she wrote.
Jill’s anger toward her brother “burned,” but she also “felt sad” about what had occurred. “Sad that Josh had become such a monster, sad that even with all of the chances Josh had been given to change, he had thrown them all away and he continued down a dark, terrible road,” she wrote. “Like the rest of the world, I was finally able to see my eldest brother for what he was — a man unable to control himself, totally detached from the reality of how deeply he was hurting others.”
Josh was convicted in December 2021 and sentenced the following May to 151 months in prison.
Courtesy of Jill Duggar/Instagram After her dramatic departure from the Counting On spotlight, Jill Duggar is ready to share her side of the story. Duggar, 32, opened up like never before in her new book, Counting the Cost, about growing up in front of TLC cameras with her famous family — and the various costs
Us Weekly Read More
Continue Reading
By Bolanle Media | July 2, 2026
Photo: Tyla at the 2026 Met Gala in custom Valentino — days before making the biggest business move of her career.
There are career moves, and then there are statements. Tyla just made a statement that will be studied in music business classrooms for years.
The South African superstar — born Tyla Laura Seethal, 24 years old, and already the proud owner of two Grammy Awards — has officially signed a multi-million dollar global deal with Roc Nation, Jay-Z’s powerhouse entertainment company, walking away from Epic Records to align herself with the most influential roster in the music business. The signing was confirmed across social media with a major digital announcement this week, and the reaction from industry insiders was immediate — shock, admiration, and the quiet acknowledgment that someone just changed the trajectory of African music forever.
From “Water” to a Global Phenomenon
Let’s not forget where this all started. In 2023, a 21-year-old from Johannesburg released a song called “Water” that nobody could quite categorize and everybody needed to hear. Within weeks, it had sparked one of the most viral TikTok dance challenges of the decade, charted simultaneously across the United States, the United Kingdom, and Africa, and earned Tyla a Grammy Award for Best African Music Performance — the first year that category even existed.
That win wasn’t just personal. It was a signal. African music — Afrobeats, Amapiano, and now what Tyla herself calls A*Pop — was no longer knocking at the door of the global mainstream. It had walked through it. And Tyla had handed it the key.
What followed was a whirlwind two years of sold-out shows, magazine covers, red carpet domination, and a growing reputation as one of the most stylistically fearless artists on the planet. She attended the 2026 Met Gala — her third consecutive appearance — wearing a custom Valentino gown dripping in diamond chains with a sweeping teal skirt, styled by the legendary Law Roach, with beauty by Pat McGrath. The look was breathtaking. But it was also strategic. Every Met Gala appearance, every fashion moment, every carefully placed interview has been building toward exactly this: the infrastructure to match the vision.
What Roc Nation Actually Means
To understand why this deal matters, you have to understand what Roc Nation actually is — because it is not simply a record label.
Founded by Jay-Z in 2008, Roc Nation is a full-service entertainment company with divisions spanning artist management, touring, brand partnerships, film and television, sports management, and philanthropy. Its roster has included Rihanna, Alicia Keys, J. Cole, Big Sean, Lil Uzi Vert, and Megan Thee Stallion — artists who didn’t just sell records, but built multi-decade cultural empires that extended into fashion, film, business, and beyond. The through-line isn’t genre. It’s scale.
For Tyla specifically, the Roc Nation deal unlocks a completely different level of access. We’re talking about premium budgets for music videos and live production, top-tier brand partnership pipelines with luxury and lifestyle companies, film and television placement relationships that most artists spend a decade trying to build, and the kind of media weight that gets you on the cover of Vogue, Time, and Billboard in the same calendar year. Roc Nation doesn’t just manage artists — it engineers icons.
On the African music side, Tyla joins fellow Roc Nation signee Ayra Starr, the Nigerian pop star who inked her deal in 2025, deepening the label’s clear and deliberate strategic investment in African pop as the next dominant global genre. Jay-Z is not betting on a trend. He is betting on a generation.
The Album That Could Rewrite the Playbook
The timing of this signing is not accidental — it is surgical.
Tyla’s highly anticipated sophomore album, A*POP, is officially set to drop July 24, 2026, just three weeks away — a 14-track project that she has described as unapologetic, globally ambitious, and deeply rooted in her South African identity while simultaneously reaching for something universal. The lead single “She Did It Again” features Swedish pop titan Zara Larsson, a collaboration that announces in no uncertain terms that Tyla is not staying in any lane she didn’t build herself.
With Roc Nation’s full machine now behind the album rollout — promotional infrastructure, media relationships, tour routing, brand activations — A*POP arrives with a runway that Epic Records simply could not have provided at this scale. The industry is already paying attention. For music supervisors, film and TV executives, brand marketers, and entertainment investors reading this right now — put A*POP on your radar immediately. This is the kind of release that shapes culture, not just charts.
The Bigger Picture Nobody Is Talking About
Here is what gets lost in the excitement of a big announcement: the systemic significance of what Tyla just did.
The music industry’s historical relationship with African artists has been, at best, transactional — major labels slow to invest, quick to cash in on a viral moment, and consistently reluctant to build the kind of long-term infrastructure that turns an artist into a brand. Tyla has navigated that system with remarkable intelligence, refusing to be reduced to a trend, building her artistic identity on her own terms, and now — at 24 — arriving at the negotiating table with enough leverage to choose Roc Nation on her terms.
That matters. Not just for Tyla, but for every African artist watching this unfold from Lagos, Accra, Nairobi, Cape Town, and Houston. It is proof that the path from regional phenomenon to global superstar is not only possible — it is being paved right now, in real time, by a young woman from Johannesburg who refused to shrink.
For media companies, content platforms, entertainment executives, and brand strategists operating in the African diaspora space — this is your data point. African pop is not a niche. It is not a trend. It is not a moment. It is a movement, and Tyla just secured the most powerful co-sign available in the global music business to lead it.
Watch this space. Very closely.
Follow @bolanlemedia on Instagram for real-time music, film, and entertainment industry news. Read more at bolanlemedia.com
AfriqueFest: Pan-African Musical Experience — World Cup Edition is set to take over Noto Houston on Sunday, June 28, bringing together East, South, and West African sounds in one immersive celebration of music, culture, and connection. Presented by Experience Noir and Bolanle Media, the event is designed as a cinematic night for the culture, blending global energy with Houston nightlife in a way that feels elevated, intentional, and deeply rooted in African creativity.
Spotlight on DJ Shinski
At the heart of this year’s experience is DJ Shinski. Born and raised in Nairobi, Kenya and now based in Houston, DJ Shinski has built an international name off high-energy sets that move effortlessly across Afrobeats, Amapiano, hip‑hop, dancehall, reggae, and electronic sounds.
He has also become Africa’s most‑subscribed DJ on YouTube, crossing the 2‑million‑subscriber mark and turning his mixes into a global destination for music lovers.
DJ Shinski’s style is precise but unpredictable: one moment it’s classic Afrobeats, the next it’s East African anthems, then a run of throwback hip‑hop or R&B that still feels fresh. That ability to read a room and connect multiple worlds in a single set is exactly why AfriqueFest is building so much of the night’s energy around him.
At AfriqueFest, DJ Shinski helps drive the Safari Grooves segment, representing East and Central Africa from 4 PM to 6 PM. Expect a journey that moves from Nairobi to Dar es Salaam, Kampala, Addis, and beyond, all filtered through his signature “vibes on vibes” approach behind the decks.
DJ Tunez and the rest of the night
Supporting that energy, DJ Tunez leads the Gold Coast Beats chapter from 8 PM to 10 PM, bringing his own Nigerian‑American Afrobeats pedigree to the stage. Together with the Diamond Rhythms segment (South) and a curated roster of DJs, the night stretches across the continent in three distinct musical chapters, all connected by a single dance floor.
Hosted by @chris_gone_crazy, @kingdrewwskyy, @roselynomaka, and @samsnewleaf, AfriqueFest is positioned as more than a party—it’s a celebration of sound, style, and Pan‑African identity in Houston, with DJ Shinski anchoring the experience from the moment doors open.
Brought to you by Bolanle Media & Experience Noir
Brought to you by Bolanle Media and Experience Noir, this World Cup edition of AfriqueFest is crafted as a night where global DJs, storytellers, and music lovers collide and create a shared cultural memory. With DJ Shinski front and center—and DJ Tunez helping close the night—guests can expect a show that reflects both the future of African nightlife and the power of the diaspora to create unforgettable live moments.
If you want to experience DJ Shinski live at AfriqueFest, now is the time to lock in your spot. Purchase your tickets now at AfriqueFest.com and get ready for a night of music, movement, and culture at Noto Houston.
Laughter Meets Inspiration: Our Ladies Show Lands on The Roku Channel
A bold new sketch comedy series for women premieres June 13 across the U.S., U.K., and Canada — arriving on the back of a festival-winning run that has critics and audiences already paying attention.
It isn’t every day a brand-new comedy arrives already wearing a row of trophies. Our Ladies Show does. The seven-episode inspirational sketch comedy series — created, written by, and starring Christin Jezak — begins streaming on The Roku Channel on Friday, June 13, 2026, available free to viewers in the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada.
Produced in partnership with global media services leader Encompass Digital Media, the series sets out to do something rare in today’s streaming landscape: make women laugh out loud and leave them lifted. In a media moment crowded with noise and cynicism, Our Ladies Show is a deliberate counterweight — comedy with a conscience, built for women of every age and background.
A Show Built Around Real Life — and Real Laughs
Each of the seven episodes opens with a monologue from one of the cast members introducing the theme, then rolls into three or more sketches that hit the subject from every comedic angle. The series tackles the things women actually carry: holding grudges, comparison, beauty, patience, gift giving, the importance of community, and dealing with anxiety.
The comedy comes from a place of warmth rather than mockery — a “laugh at ourselves” spirit that runs through a gallery of unforgettable characters: a nosey neighbor, an overwhelmed mom, relentlessly optimistic flight attendants, beauty pageant winners past their prime, and a crew of unruly campers with a counselor who simply cannot hold it together.
Then the show does something most sketch series don’t. In the final segment of every episode, the cast gathers in a living-room setting and invites the audience in — sharing real inspiration drawn from the theme, the sketches, and their own personal stories. It’s the moment the laughter turns into something that stays with you.
The Women Behind the Show
Our Ladies Show brings together three performers with serious range:
- Christin Jezak — creator, writer, and star (Miracle at Manchester, Raising Hope, Jimmy Kimmel Live!)
- Hillary Hawkins — (Primal, Nick Jr.’s Play Along, Gullah Gullah Island)
- Sarah Hernandez — (Nefarious, Unplanned, House of Payne)
“In a world with so much division and depression, I hope women of all ages and backgrounds will watch this show, laugh, be reminded of how beautiful, unique, and loved they are, and remember how much we need each other.”— Christin Jezak, Creator & Star
Already a Festival Favorite
The series’ recurring long-form sketch, Neighborhood Watch, didn’t arrive quietly. Originally released as a web series and revamped for Our Ladies Show with new footage, sound, and music, it has been sweeping the festival circuit:
- 🏆 Best Webseries — 2026 New Media Film Festival (Los Angeles)
- 🏆 Best Web/TV Series — Paris Film Awards
- 🏆 Best Web Series — Dallas Movie Awards
- 🏅 Additional wins at the London Movie Awards, Florence Film Awards, and Hollywood Gold Awards
- 🎬 Official Selection — 2026 Harvard Divinity School Film Fest
- ⭐ Finalist — Houston Comedy Film Festival
- 📣 Three nominations — 2025 Content Christian Media Conference, including Best Actress in a TV and Web Series nods for both Christin Jezak and Sarah Hernandez
Where and When to Watch
Our Ladies Show premieres Friday, June 13, 2026, streaming on The Roku Channel — the home of premium and free entertainment — in the U.S., U.K., and Canada. All seven episodes deliver the series’ signature blend of sharp sketch comedy and genuine encouragement.
Watch the trailer now on your platform of choice:
For more information, visit www.ourladiesshow.com and follow @ourladiesshow on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.
About Christin Jezak
Christin Jezak has worked for over 15 years in the entertainment industry. She created and stars in Our Ladies Show and the award-winning web series Neighborhood Watch. She produced the EWTN TV program For the Sake of the Gospel and the all-women web series Ladies Keepin’ It Real, played Dr. Sam in Miracle at Manchester (starring Dean Cain, Daniel Roebuck, and Eddie McClintock), and voices Agnes in the podcast Confessions of a Catholic Single. She held a lead role in a short film for NTT Data directed by Academy Award–winning cinematographer Janusz Kamiński, has co-starred on Raising Hope, and appeared in Jimmy Kimmel sketches and a Grubhub Super Bowl commercial.
About The Roku Channel
Roku pioneered streaming on TV and is the #1 TV streaming platform in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico by hours streamed (Hypothesis Group, Dec. 2025). The Roku Channel is the home of premium and free entertainment, alongside Roku’s Howdy and Frndly TV services. Roku is headquartered in San Jose, California.
About Encompass Digital Media
Encompass Digital Media is a global managed services company — technology-driven, software-defined, and people-powered. Trusted by world-leading broadcasters, networks, sports rights-holders, and OTT platforms, it processes over 25,000 hours of content daily, serves 850 channels to 84 countries, distributes over 243,000 live events annually, and reaches 400 million radio listeners weekly worldwide. Learn more at www.encompass.tv.
Media & Interview Requests: To interview creator Christin Jezak or the cast, contact Christin at cjezak@p2ptheatre.com.
Advice4 days ago
Why Some Songs End Up in Movies—While Others Never Do
Film Industry2 weeks ago
They Told Him a Black Man Can’t Learn. He Sued Them and Won.
Entertainment4 weeks ago
