Duggar family speech at Alberta homeschooling convention cancelled
The scandal-clad Duggar family's keynote speech at the Alberta Home Education Association conference in Red Deer, Alta., has been cancelled.
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In a press release sent out on Sunday, the AHEA confirmed that the controversial reality TV couple, Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar, have been dropped from the program.
"Although early feedback from our members this summer was supportive of having the Duggars come here, recent feedback from our own members points out that their appearance here would not be in the best interest of home educators," reads the release.
The Duggar family has been clouded in controversy since May, when TLC cancelled their reality TV show, 19 Kids and Counting, after their eldest son admitted he had molested four of his sisters when he was a teenager.
The Duggars were booked two years ago, before the news about Josh Duggar surfaced, according to AHEA president Paul van den Bosch.
"As we have learned, child abuse can happen in any home and is never 'old news,'" wrote van den Bosch.
"Our members so pointed out that, as the Duggars would have been giving only two talks (of the more than 40 talks available), their presence would have been only a small part of the convention and the Duggars' philosophy is not representative of AHEA as a whole."
On Friday, the AHEA announced it was having second thoughts about the speech.
Information about the Duggars and their speech was pulled down from the convention website on Sunday as well.
The convention takes place April 8 and 9 in Red Deer.
