Walgreens, Payless, Choice Hotels Dump ’19 Kids and Counting’ Over Duggar Scandal (Updated)

The advertisers join General Mills in fleeing the TLC hit In the wake of the molestation revelations about Josh Duggar

Updated at 8:15 p.m PT.  Walgreens has joined the growing list of advertisers that have pulled the plug on TLC’s “19 Kids and Counting.”

Previously…
There was more fallout for the TLC reality series “19 Kids and Counting” on Tuesday, as two additional advertisers vowed to remove their spots from the scandal-plagued show, following reports that one of its stars had been accused of molesting underage girls, including some of his sisters.

Both Choice Hotels and Payless Shoe Source announced on Twitter that they will no longer advertise on the show, following “19 Kids” star Josh Duggar’s admission last week that he had acted “inexcusably” as a teenager.

The defections follow food giant General Mills, which announced last week that it had pulled “19 Kids” from its advertising schedule.

“Thank you for reaching out,” Choice responded to a Twitter user on Monday morning who asked the company to pull its ads from the show. “We share your concerns and we have decided to remove our advertising from the show.”

Payless, meanwhile, said that its ads had run on “19 Kids” as part of a “larger buy” with the cable station, but the shoe retailer is “taking steps to have them removed from future episodes.”

On Friday, TLC yanked the show from its schedule, saying that it was “deeply saddened and troubled by this heartbreaking situation, and our thoughts and prayers are with the family and victims at this difficult time.”

Duggar admitted to “acting inexcusably” on Thursday, following reports that Duggar had been accused of child molestation.

“Twelve years ago, as a young teenager, I acted inexcusably for which I am extremely sorry and deeply regret. I hurt others, including my family and close friends,” Duggar told People in a statement. “I confessed this to my parents who took several steps to help me address the situation. We spoke with the authorities where I confessed my wrongdoing, and my parents arranged for me and those affected by my actions to receive counseling. I understood that if I continued down this wrong road that I would end up ruining my life.”

As a result of the scandal, Duggar has also resigned from his position at the Family Research Council. Duggar had served as executive director of FRC Action, the right-leaning council’s legislative affiliate.

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