Entertainment

Jill Duggar Cried Over Jim Bob Confrontation About Pants: Book Takeaways on September 12, 2023 at 11:00 am Us Weekly

Published

3 years ago

September 12, 2023

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

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Advice

Independent Film’s New Reality: 10 Brutal Truths You Have to Face in 2026

Published

1 week ago

May 25, 2026

Bolanle Media Staff

If you are still approaching independent film like it’s 2015, you are going to get crushed. The landscape that once rewarded a scrappy feature and a couple of festival laurels has become a crowded, algorithm‑driven marketplace where attention is the rarest currency. Recent industry analysis on “inflection points” for 2026 all say the same thing: the business model for independent film has changed, whether you like it or not.

1. You’re Competing With Everything

Your film is no longer just competing with other indie features. It is fighting for attention against TikTok clips, prestige series, and endless back catalog on every streaming platform. That means “pretty good” is invisible. You either have a sharp, specific audience and a clean logline, or you disappear into the scroll.

2. Festivals Are Not a Distribution Plan

A festival premiere and a few Q&As can help with credibility, but they are not a business strategy. Without a parallel plan—email list, community building, partnerships, and a clear path to paid viewers—you come home with a laurel and no deal. Even festival‑aligned organizations now frame their “don’t miss indies” coverage as part of a broader visibility and audience strategy, not a finish line.

3. The Middle Is Collapsing

Industry voices are blunt about it: micro‑budget genre films and clearly branded auteur work still find lanes, but the soft, mid‑budget drama with no hook is almost impossible to monetize. If your film cannot be pitched in one or two sentences to a specific audience, it will struggle regardless of how “good” it is.

4. You Are a Small Business, Not a Starving Artist

The indie filmmakers who will survive 2026 are treating their careers like businesses. Guides focused on creating a “film business turnaround” talk about lifetime value, repeat customers, multiple revenue streams, and audience retention—not just finishing one feature. Your filmography is a product line, not a lottery ticket.

5. SAG Is a Competitive Advantage

SAG actors and union rules are not your enemy; they are a way to level up. SAGindie and SAG‑AFTRA low‑budget agreements exist to help genuine independents hire professional talent and present themselves as serious, compliant productions. Understanding those tools gives you access to stronger cast, better reputations, and more credible pitches.

6. Streaming Is Not a Golden Ticket

Streaming is no longer the dream “one deal solves everything” outcome. The deals are leaner, the competition is brutal, and many filmmakers now make more by going direct‑to‑fan through TVOD, memberships, or niche platforms than by chasing a low‑MG all‑rights license. You need to know why you want a streamer—brand value, audience reach, or pure revenue—and plan accordingly.

7. Format Matters Less Than Relationship

Audiences care more about access than whether your project is a feature, series, or hybrid. If you give them a reason to show up repeatedly, they will follow you across formats. If you do not, a 90‑minute feature is just one more piece of content in an endless feed.elliotgrove.

8. Marketing Starts at Concept

Marketing is not something you “figure out later.” The most effective 2026 indies build their hook at the idea stage—title, poster, and logline are treated as core creative decisions, not afterthoughts. If you cannot imagine the trailer, one‑sheet, and social teaser while you are still outlining, that is a red flag.

9. Community Is Your Real Safety Net

Filmmakers who plug into networks, reading lists, and producer education hubs are adapting the fastest. They are not reinventing the wheel alone; they are leveraging shared knowledge, updated contracts, and peer feedback to make smarter decisions project by project.

10. Accepting Reality Is Your Edge

Here is the real brutal truth: if you can accept all of this, you gain an edge. Most of the field is still clinging to old myths about discovery, “overnight” success, and festival miracles. If you are willing to treat your indie career as a living, evolving business—grounded in current data and audience behavior—2026 might be the moment where “truly independent” stops meaning powerless and starts meaning in control.

Entertainment

Ozempic Era: Beauty, Lizard Venom, Big Pharma

Published

1 week ago

May 24, 2026

Bolanle Media Staff

The film industry is entering a new body era, and this time, the co-star is a syringe.

GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro have moved from diabetes clinics into casting conversations, red carpets, and agency strategy. In the United States, roughly 1 in 8 adults report having used a GLP-1 drug, with about 6 to 12 percent actively using one today. Globally, usage has surged from approximately 4 million people in 2020 to around 30 million by 2026.

This is no longer a niche health trend. It is a structural shift—one that is reshaping how bodies are constructed, perceived, and rewarded on screen.

At a clinical level, the appeal is clear. In major obesity trials, semaglutide has produced average weight loss of 15 to 17 percent of total body weight over 68 to 104 weeks, with some regimens approaching 19 to 21 percent for sustained users. In an industry built on transformation, those numbers carry real influence.

But rapid transformation leaves a visible trace. The phenomenon often called “Ozempic face”—hollowed cheeks, looser skin, a subtly aged appearance—reflects how quickly fat loss can outpace the skin’s ability to adjust.

For filmmakers, this is not just aesthetic—it is cinematic. Performance lives in the face. Micro-expressions, softness, and facial volume shape how emotion reads on camera. A performer may reach an “ideal” body while losing something less measurable but equally important on screen.

Beneath this cultural shift lies an origin story that feels almost written for film.

In the 1990s, researchers studying the Gila monster isolated a peptide in its venom called exendin-4, which mimicked a human hormone involved in blood sugar regulation but lasted significantly longer in the body. That discovery led to early GLP-1 drugs such as exenatide, used by millions of patients worldwide, and eventually to semaglutide.

By mid-2025, semaglutide-based drugs (including Ozempic and Wegovy) generated approximately $16 to $17 billion in just six months, making it one of the highest-grossing drug classes globally. Analysts project the broader incretin market could reach $200 billion annually by 2030.

Inside those numbers is a more complex human story.

The benefits are well documented: improved blood sugar control, significant weight loss, and reduced cardiovascular risk. But as use expands, so does scrutiny. Researchers and regulators are tracking side effects ranging from severe gastrointestinal issues and gastroparesis to gallbladder disease and pancreatitis, as well as rarer concerns such as vision complications and potential neurological signals.

At the same time, adoption continues to accelerate. J.P. Morgan projects roughly 10 million Americans on GLP-1 drugs by 2025, rising toward 25 to 30 million by 2030. At that scale, usage becomes ambient—part of everyday life across industries, including film and television.

And yet the marketing tells a different story. Pharmaceutical campaigns rely on cinematic language—aspirational visuals, controlled lighting, emotional transformation arcs—while legally required risk disclosures recede into fine print.

For independent filmmakers, this moment opens several narrative lanes.

There is the body: performers navigating an industry where a once-niche diabetes drug has become a quiet career tool.

There is the machine: a pharmaceutical ecosystem where a single drug category generates tens of billions annually, rivaling major entertainment sectors.

And there is the myth: a culture increasingly turning to a hormone-based intervention—derived from venom biology—rather than addressing systemic issues like food access, stress, and inequality.

Technology intensifies all of it. Ultra-high-resolution cameras and HDR workflows capture every detail—skin texture, volume shifts, micro-expressions. As more on-screen talent uses the same class of drugs, a new visual baseline begins to form, often without audiences realizing why.

There is also a clear economic divide. GLP-1 drugs can cost $800 to $1,000 or more per month without insurance in the United States, and coverage remains inconsistent. Rising demand has led to shortages and a parallel market of compounded or unregulated alternatives.

The gap between who can access consistent, medically supervised treatment and who cannot is becoming part of the story itself.

For cinema, the imagery is already there: the Sonoran desert, a Gila monster, laboratory research, pharmaceutical earnings calls, red carpets, and transformation narratives.

A compound derived from venom becomes a global product that reshapes not only bodies, but expectations.

Perhaps the most uncomfortable layer is the industry’s own role. Casting preferences, transformation culture, and unspoken aesthetic standards reinforce a pharmacological look without ever naming it.

No one explicitly instructs performers to take these drugs. The system simply rewards the results.

This is not a distant trend. It is a present-tense shift.

The numbers are rising. The images are changing. The influence is expanding.

The question is whether independent cinema will define this moment while it is still unfolding—or whether the story will once again be shaped by the industries profiting most from it.

Advice

How to Find Your Voice as a Filmmaker

Published

2 weeks ago

May 19, 2026

Bolanle Media Staff

Every filmmaker aspires to create projects that are not only memorable but also uniquely their own. Finding your creative voice is a journey that requires self-reflection, bold choices, and an unwavering commitment to your vision. Here’s how to uncover your style, take risks, and craft original work that stands out.

1. Discovering Your Voice: Understanding Your Influences

Your unique voice begins with recognizing what inspires you.

Step 1: Reflect on the themes, genres, or emotions that consistently draw your interest. Are you inspired by human resilience, surreal worlds, or untold histories?
Step 2: Study the work of filmmakers you admire. Analyze what resonates with you—their use of color, pacing, or narrative techniques.

Tip: Combine what you love with your personal experiences to create a lens that only you can offer.

Example: Wes Anderson’s whimsical, symmetrical worlds stem from his love of classic storytelling and his unique visual style.

Takeaway: Start with what moves you, then add your personal touch.

2. Taking Creative Risks: Experiment and Evolve

To stand out, you must be willing to challenge conventions and explore new territory.

Experimentation: Try unusual storytelling structures, such as non-linear timelines or silent sequences.
Collaboration: Work with people outside your usual circle to gain fresh perspectives.
Feedback: Screen your projects for trusted peers and be open to constructive criticism.

Example: Jordan Peele blended horror with social commentary in Get Out, creating a genre-defying film that captivated audiences.

Takeaway: Risks are an opportunity for growth, even if they don’t always succeed.

3. Telling Original Stories: Start with Authenticity

Original projects resonate when they stem from a place of truth.

Draw from Experience: Incorporate elements of your own life, culture, or worldview into your stories.
Explore the “Why”: Ask yourself why this story matters to you and how it connects with your audience.
Avoid Trends: Focus on timeless narratives rather than chasing current fads.

Example: Greta Gerwig’s Lady Bird was deeply personal, based on her experiences growing up in Sacramento. The film’s authenticity made it universally relatable.

Takeaway: The more personal the story, the more it resonates.

4. Developing Your Style: Consistency Meets Creativity

Style is not just about visuals—it’s how you tell a story across all elements of filmmaking.

Visual Language: Experiment with colors, lighting, and framing to create a distinct aesthetic.
Narrative Voice: Develop consistent themes or motifs across your projects.
Sound Design: Use music, sound effects, and silence to evoke specific emotions.

Example: Quentin Tarantino’s use of dialogue, pop culture references, and bold music choices makes his work instantly recognizable.

Takeaway: Your style should be intentional, evolving as you grow but always recognizable as yours.

5. Staying True to Yourself: Building Confidence in Your Vision

The filmmaking process is full of challenges, but staying true to your voice is essential.

Stay Authentic: Trust your instincts, even if your ideas seem unconventional.
Adapt Without Compromise: Be open to feedback but maintain your core vision.
Celebrate Your Growth: View every project, successful or not, as a stepping stone in your creative journey.

Example: Ava DuVernay shifted from public relations to filmmaking, staying true to her voice in films like Selma and 13th, which focus on social justice.

Takeaway: Your voice evolves with every project, so embrace the process.

Conclusion: From Idea to Screen, Your Voice is Your Superpower

Finding your voice as a filmmaker takes time, courage, and commitment. By exploring your influences, taking risks, and staying true to your perspective, you’ll craft stories that not only stand out but also resonate deeply with your audience.

Bolanle Media is excited to announce our partnership with The Newbie Film Academy to offer comprehensive courses designed specifically for aspiring screenwriters. Whether you’re just starting out or looking to enhance your skills, our resources will provide you with the tools and knowledge needed to succeed in the competitive world of screenwriting. Join us today to unlock your creative potential and take your first steps toward crafting compelling stories that resonate with audiences. Let’s turn your ideas into impactful scripts together!