Back in December of 2019, Derick Dillard announced that he’s writing a memoir about his experiences with the Duggar family.
Derick, of course, has been openly feuding with Jim Bob Duggar for several months, and it seems that Jill’s husband has no intention of burying the hatchet with her father.
Jim Bob has chosen to fight the battle behind closed doors, and — as with most family matters — he’s opted not to speak publicly about Derick’s accusations, or his forthcoming literary debut.
And while Derick is sounding off on Twitter, it seems that Jim Bob is rallying his troops and planning to face off against his son-in-law in court.
The Hollywood Gossip has spoken exclusively with a former employee of the Duggars who confirmed to us that Jim Bob has reason to be fearful about the publication of Derick’s book.
“He’s definitely gonna do his book, and when he does his book, Jim Bob is done. He is done” our source claims.
Not surprisingly, it seems that Jim Bob has a stellar legal team in his corner and is willing to do whatever it takes to either silence Derick or make him regret speaking out.
“He’s already got four or five big lawyers — I mean big lawyers — who have done a lot of research as far as the contracts from TLC go,” says the insider.
One of Derick’s most damaging claims is the accusation that Jim Bob has stolen millions from his children by keeping all of the money the Duggars have earned from their TLC reality shows.
According to Derick, Jim Bob creates the impression that the money is being evenly distributed among his family, but in reality, the patriarch has been exploiting a contractual loophole that allows him to keep his kids’ salaries for himself.
Our insider confirms that this is one of many unethical business practices in which Jim Bob routinely engages.
“It’s supposed to be when the kids come of age, they get their pay,” our tipster says.
“Needless to say, Jim Bob keeps all the money, and he doles it out as he sees fit.”
The insider alleges that this is one of Jim Bob’s methods for maintaining control over his children well into adulthood.
He distributes the TLC earnings as gifts or allowances, and then expects his children to thank him for what they’ve been told is a benevolent gesture.
“He thinks by giving them a house for 10 bucks, or a house for 20 bucks, he’s doing his share, when he only paid 8 or $9,000 for the property,” the insider says.
Through these financial machinations, Jim Bob both lines his pockets and maintains strict control over the lives and decisions of his grown children.
“Jim Bob is a mental contractor. That’s what I call him, a mental contractor. He builds these kids the way he wants them to be,” says our source.
“And then what happens is, when they get away from Jim Bob and they see how things really are, it’s hard for them to live in that family.”
One of the most common allegations against Jim Bob is that his control over his family is more like that of a cult leader than a father.
Our source says that accusation is undeniably true, and Jim Bob is deeply uncomfortable with the idea that his authority might be undermined by an upstart in-law like Derick.
“Jim Bob has instilled and browbeaten and berated these kids and built them the way he wants them to be, and then when they get a taste of things that aren’t his way, but are still right, he just can’t handle it,” the informant says.
“It’s definitely cultish.”
We’ll have further updates on this developing story as more information becomes available.