’19 Kids and Counting’ Star Josh Duggar Thanks His Father for Standing by Him ‘Through the Hard Times’ (Video)

Reality star at center of child molestation scandal takes time out to pay gratitude to his pop

And now, a very heartwarming Father’s Day message from Josh Duggar.

The now-infamous star of TLC’s “19 Kids and Counting” took to the Internet to wish his father, Jim Bob Duggar, a happy Father’s Day, thanking the family patriarch for all that he’s done for Josh over the years.

Duggar thanks his dad for helping him, among other things, learn the details of business and construction, as well as his general overall presence.

“I can also just think of all the moments where you’ve been there for us, through the hard times and through the good times,” Duggar told his father via YouTube. “And I know that your investment in each one of our lives is priceless, and we’re so grateful for you.”

Though Duggar doesn’t say as much in the video, the “hard times” presumably would include the child molestation scandal of which Josh has been at the center recently. The reality TV star has made all of the wrong kinds of headlines, after it was revealed that he was accused of molesting numerous young girls, some of them his sisters, when he was a teenager.

Jim Bob Duggar has also drawn heat himself for allegedly not reporting Josh’s alleged offenses to the authorities until more than a year had passed after his son approached him about them.

The video ends with Josh’s wife Anna thanking Jim Bob for “raising such an awesome husband” before planting a kiss on her husband’s lips.

After the accusations first broke, Josh Duggar admitted that, as a teenager, he “acted inexcusably” and resigned from his leadership position with the Family Research Council. Josh’s sisters Jill and Jessa later revealed that they were among his victims during an interview on Fox News Channel, though Jessa offered a defense of her brother, saying, “Really, the extent of it was mild — inappropriate touching on fully clothed victims, most of it while [the] girls were sleeping.”

TLC has not yet revealed whether it will cancel the series, though it has pulled all episodes from its schedule indefinitely.

Watch the video.

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