Duggar Family Member Tweets About Compassion After Derick Dillard Controversy

Amy King, formerly known to TLC “19 Kids and Counting” fans as cousin Amy Duggar, has spoken out following Derick Dillard’s leave from the family’s spinoff series, “Counting On.”

“You might not agree with someone or their lifestyle but you SHOULD be compassionate and show God’s love regardless to everyone,” Amy tweeted. Her message came several days after TLC announced Derick, husband to Amy’s cousin Jill Dillard, would not be appearing in future episodes of “Counting On” due to his “personal statements” regarding TLC’s “I Am Jazz” star Jazz Jennings, who is transgender.

While the aspiring country singer didn’t name her cousin’s husband in the post, fans were quick to connect the dots. “This is what I was trying to say to Derick,” reads one of the top replies. “It’s okay that you don’t agree with the trans community, that’s your opinion and that’s fine. But you can’t bully and be mean to others.”

Amy replied to the fan’s comment by stating she has “friends that are gay” and still loves them “as a person.”

While some of Amy’s followers thanked her for her words, others slammed her for not supporting her religious family. “Honestly @amyduggar, that was really disrespectful to your family. What Derick said was TRUE, he did NOT bully that boy, and I am appalled that you would publicly say something against a member of your family,” wrote one fan.

Following TLC’s announcement last week, Derick posted a quote from evangelical Christian pastor Rick Warren to his Instagram about culture. Jill, meanwhile, ignored the issue at hand, instead sharing an updated photo of their youngest son Samuel and asking fans to donate to Derick’s mission work.

Other members of the Duggar family haven’t been as outspoken as Amy. In recent days, the official Duggar family Facebook fan page, as well as Jill’s siblings who are on social media, have remained mum on the topic, only posting about Justin Duggar’s 15th birthday on Wednesday and the release of the biblical movie “Genesis: Paradise Lost.”