Amy Duggar King is speaking out after her cousin Joseph Duggar’s arrest, blasting the Duggar family’s “toxic system” that she says “breeds secrecy.”
“I think there’s just a lot of victims in this whole situation because this whole, entire toxic cycle of this pattern, this system breeds this,” the 39-year-old told Fox News Digital. “It breeds secrecy. It breeds broken hearts. It breeds being untrue to your wife or to your husband, and things get swept under the rug.”
“I just don’t think people are putting up with that anymore,” she shared. “And the rug is being completely lifted.”
JOSH DUGGAR’S COUSIN RECALLS HAUNTING WORDS WHEN REALITY STAR WAS CONFRONTED WITH ABUSE ALLEGATIONS
On March 18, Joseph, 31, was arrested in Tontitown, Arkansas, where he lives with his family, The Associated Press reported. The former reality TV star was charged with lewd and lascivious behavior toward a child under 12 years old, according to an arrest affidavit from the Bay County Sheriff’s Office in Panama City, Florida.
Authorities have also filed charges against his wife, Kendra Duggar, 27, in Arkansas, the Tontitown Police Department announced. The charges include four counts of endangering the welfare of a minor and four counts of false imprisonment.
Duggar has entered a not guilty plea to all charges. He is due back in court on April 20.
WATCH: AMY DUGGAR KING REACTS TO JOSEPH DUGGAR ARREST, ALLEGES TOXIC SYSTEM
The charges come almost five years after Joseph’s older brother, Josh Duggar, was convicted of downloading child sexual abuse images. The family starred in the TLC show “19 Kids and Counting,” which was canceled after reports surfaced that Josh, 38, had molested four of his young sisters and a babysitter.
In Duggar King’s 2025 memoir, “Holy Disruptor,” she alleged that her late grandfather, Jimmy Lee Duggar, was physically abusive and a “predator.” She also described confronting Josh following the abuse allegations.
At the time of the book’s publication, Fox News Digital reached out to Joseph and Josh’s father, Jim Bob Duggar, for comment.
“I called this in my book, and that’s not a celebration for me,” said Duggar King. “I don’t want to be right about these kinds of situations, but abuse will happen and will continue to go down the bloodline until it is completely removed and cut off and healed from. Now I believe people are seeing the truth. There’s a boldness and comfort level about my book that makes people go, ‘Whoa, this is so different from what I saw on television versus what I’m reading.’”
“I just want to use my voice to help as many people as I can,” she added.
Duggar King admitted she’s still “processing the news.”
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“My initial reaction [was] my heart plummeted,” she said. “Out of all my cousins, Joe was the last person that I thought this would happen to. I was shocked that it was who it was. I’m not shocked that in this toxic system that allows secrecy to be rewarded, and that these kids have to fall in line. And, in my opinion, there’s no accountability for the men.”
“I believe if you’re in a toxic system like that and every man is the extreme leader, and they don’t answer to anyone, they honestly think they’re above the law, then that’s going to lead to abuse of power.”
“I think one thing that needs to change within the family unit — this is just my opinion — is telling the truth,” she said. “That shouldn’t be so hard to do. And the truth has always been really hidden in my family. That’s what I wrote about in ‘Holy Disruptor.’”
Several of Duggar King’s cousins have spoken out following Joseph’s arrest, saying they’re shocked and heartbroken. But for Duggar King, more needs to happen.
“I love that people speak their truth, and I love that my cousins are doing so,” she said. “However, it’s not just glossy words that need to take place. There actually needs to be a change. Although they said how broken they are, how hurt they are, their feelings are valid, and I sympathize with them. It’s hard to believe it in a way because I just want there to be actual change within this family unit.”
WATCH: AMY DUGGAR KING RECALLS CHILLING MOMENT CONFRONTING JOSH DUGGAR
“I’ve shared my truth,” said Duggar King. “I had to share where my boundaries are, and I’m hoping that they can make certain changes in their lives to protect their kids, to protect their own peace. The fact that this is happening again is a whirlwind. It’s round two, and it seems like it’s worse because it’s Joe. Everybody loved Joe.”
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Some critics have accused Duggar King of speaking out to sell her book. Duggar King said she isn’t fazed by online chatter.
“I’m going to use my voice to inspire change and to be bold about things that are harmful, and are horrible, and that are devastating,” she explained. “And I grew up with this family. I spent countless hours with this family. So, it’s not necessarily about my book.
WATCH: JOSEPH DUGGAR IS BOOKED IN JAIL AS HE FACES CHILD MOLESTATION CHARGES
“I speak about how family toxic cycles will continue like a Ferris wheel until they are broken. And I hate that this situation is just showing and confirming what I wrote. So that’s why my book is mentioned so many times now, because it’s literally called out on those pages.”
“The critics that are saying the things that they’re saying, they don’t see my heart,” she said. “They don’t know me personally. And I’m not going to listen to such negativity because I have such a huge community of people who are supportive and just see a hurting cousin.”
“I think that being a ‘Holy Disruptor’ is like a calling,” she said. “I think we’re all called to be one. When we see things that are not right, that makes us have discernment. We see there’s something off. We can be a ‘Holy Disruptor,’ and we can disrupt things that are not good in our lives.
“I believe that God wants us to have peace, and I believe we can have it. But in order to do that, we have to disrupt the cycles that are hurting us. Just because someone is family, it doesn’t give them a free ride. People have to prove themselves. And I think it’s so easy to blindly trust people.”
The Tontitown Police Department said in a statement that the investigation remains open.
“I hope people look at their own family bloodlines and really look at the things that have gone on,” said Duggar King. “You can break toxic cycles. And there are toxic cycles within the Duggar family. I’m right there with everyone else trying to make sense of this, but I honestly don’t think any healthy, sane person who loves children… I don’t think it’s easy to understand.”
“19 Kids and Counting,” which aired from 2008 to 2015, chronicled the lives of Jim Bob and his wife, Michelle, along with their 19 children in Arkansas. Josh was sentenced in 2022 to about 12.5 years in prison on one count each of receiving and possessing images portraying child sexual abuse, The Associated Press reported.
