Amy Duggar Was ‘Taken Aback’ When Her Cousins Started Wearing Pants: ‘A Slap in the Face’

Amy Duggar has some thoughts about members of her extended family wearing pants — especially after she was criticized for doing the same.

“Honestly, I was kind of taken aback,” Amy, 38, shared during an interview with E! News published on Wednesday, July 23. “I was like, ‘Oh, OK, so now you’re wearing jeans. Now you’re cutting her hair.’ So, the things that were very evil and very rebellious, and the things that I was judged for — I was labeled this crazy girl.”

Amy was seen as the rebel — or in her words, “the contrast” — in her family for years as Jim Bob Duggar and Michelle Duggar’s big brood rose to stardom on 19 Kids and Counting and Counting On. She was constantly turning heads for wearing pants and breaking other rigid religious rules. (Amy is the only child of Terry Jordan and Deanna Duggar, whose brother is Jim Bob.)

A photo went viral in December 2024 that showed Michelle, 58, standing alongside her daughters — Jana, 35, Jill, 34, Jessa, 32, Jinger, 31, Joy-Anna, 27, Johannah, 19, Jennifer, 17, Jordyn-Grace, 16, and Josie, 15 — who were all wearing pants. Jinger has even spoken about still showing up to her parents’ house in a conservative long skirt long after she made the wardrobe change as a way of showing respect for her roots.

“Let’s be real here,” Amy continued during Wednesday’s interview. “It was just like a slap in the face in a way of just like, ‘Alright, so all of that for years was for no reason at all. Great.’”

Amy has largely distanced herself from the majority of her family but has no issues speaking out about the Duggars. She is also set to detail her experience in the upcoming memoir Holy Disruptor.

The reality TV alum stepped back in front of the camera for Shiny Happy People: A Teenage Holy War docuseries alongside husband Dillon King.

The first season of the Prime Video docuseries, which premiered in 2023, was titled Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets. Following its release, Jim Bob and Michelle issued a statement about the “derogatory and sensationalized” portrayal of their family’s connection to the Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP).

Amy read the statement aloud in to kick off Shiny Happy People season 2 when it debuted on Wednesday.

“The recent documentary that talks about our family is sad because in it we see the media and those with ill intentions hurting people we love,” she read, rolling her eyes as she continued. “We have always believed that the best chance to repair damaged relationships, or to reconcile differences, is through love in a private setting.”

Amy told the camera that her uncle Jim Bob “ticks me off” after getting through the statement. “Oh man, I wanna tell him what’s up so bad,” she added.