The 'Extremely Shocking' Discovery Made By Producers While Filming The Duggar Family Doc
The following article includes allegations of sexual abuse.
The docuseries "Shiny Happy People" is set to premiere June 2 on Prime Video, and will explore the controversy surrounding the Duggar family and IBLP — the Institute in Basic Life Principals teachings, a toxic and scandalous religious organization which the Duggar family was openly part of.
Viewers were first introduced to the family in the TLC TV series, " 19 Kids and Counting," which ran for seven years until it was canceled in 2015. After the show's end, the world was shocked to find out that one of the siblings, Josh Duggar, was charged and sentenced to prison for possessing child abuse materials.
Now, the four-part docuseries will uncover even more of the Duggar family secrets while also exposing the true agenda of IBLP. During filming, several producers of the docuseries revealed to People that they found out more than they bargained for while digging into the highly-publicized story.
The IBLP teachings were taught on a global scale
One of the revelations that producers were surprised by was how deeply rooted the radical ideologies were in today's society. IBLP teaches women to obey men and children to obey their parents, and these teachings are more widespread than many would believe. Olivia Crist, an executive producer of the docuseries, told People: "It went into our police system. It went into the military. And I think also, just how far and wide, like I said, the ideology spread," she explains. Crist found that Bill Gothard — the preacher behind IBLP, had taught the damaging teachings universally and reached people all across the globe.
Another producer of "Shiny Happy People" couldn't believe that she could relate to the extreme abuse that these teachings inflicted on women of the organization. Julia Willoughby Nason told People, "I feel like being a woman in this culture, whether I'm coming from a place of a high control system as IBLP or coming from not that place ... I could identify with the themes of abuse and trauma that we're going through these people's lifelines."
Jill Duggar Dillard makes an emotional appearance on the anticipated series
Producers of the docuseries aren't the only ones sharing the many hidden truths they uncovered while researching material for the show, as Jill Duggar Dillard has her own set of secrets she is now ready to open up about regarding the experience and her family. While Duggar Dillard was understandably hesitant to publicly share her story, she doesn't hold back in this forthcoming series.
Jill Duggar Dillard gets emotional in the intense Duggar family docuseries trailer while explaining that she wants the world to hear about her personal journey. In the trailer, she tearfully says, "There's a story that's [going to] be told and I would rather be the one telling it."
Despite the IBLP stating it provides people with guidance for their personal lives and relationships that adhere to the power of the Holy Spirit, the docuseries trailer claims otherwise, saying the teachings "turned every father into a cult leader and every home into an island."