Joy-Anna Duggar reveals what she resents most about her controversial family – as she opens up about the enduring toll of growing up in the spotlight: ‘It’s frustrating’

Joy-Anna Duggar has revealed what she resents most about her controversial family – as she clapped back at people who compare her to her parents and assume that she agrees with their strict religious teachings. 

The 26-year-old 19 Kids and Counting star admitted that she is ‘tired’ of having to live life in the spotlight and hear everyone’s opinions on her life. 

Joy-Anna got candid about dealing with the aftermath of her family’s controversy that saw her parents Jim Bob, 58, and Michelle, 57,  who were both devout followers of the Institute in Basic Life Principles, fall under fire for raising their kids with ‘cult-like beliefs.’

Now, in a new YouTube video, Joy-Anna has shared what it was like to grow up under the glare of the reality TV spotlight as she begged people to treat her like her ‘own person.’ 

Joy-Anna Duggar has revealed what she resents most about her controversial family as she clapped back at people who compare her to her parents and siblings

The 26-year-old 19 Kids and Counting star admitted that she was ‘tired’ of having to live life in the spotlight and hear everyone’s opinions on her life 

Now, in a new YouTube video, Joy-Anna has shared what it was like to grow up under the spotlight and she begged people to treat her like her ‘own person’

In the clip, the 26-year-old mom-of-three answered questions that her subscribers sent in.

She then opened up about the most difficult part of growing up in front of the cameras – and dealing with the enduring infamy that surrounds her family to this day. 

‘Probably the number one hardest part is just everybody having an opinion about your life,’ she said. 

The former reality star then recalled a hate message she received from a troll. 

‘It’s hard because people have their opinions, and there’s sometimes where it doesn’t bother me, but there are other times where when I already like feel like I’m knocked down, those things tend to come back and they do bother me,’ the mom-of-three added. 

Joy-Anna noted that for this reason she often feels like she has to be careful with the comments she reads and when she reads them.

She added: ‘For people to say things when they don’t actually know us is frustrating because in my heart, I’m like, I really want them to get to know me.

‘I wish people would get to know me for me and not for my whole family, if that makes sense. 

In the clip, the 26-year-old mom-of-three answered questions that her subscribers sent in

Joy-Anna noted that for this reason she often feels like she has to be careful with the comments she reads and when she reads them

In 2015, Jill (second from right) and Jessa (center) made headlines when they revealed their brother had molested them. Two years later, Jinger (second from left) and Joy (left) were identified as the other victims

The explosive Amazon Prime docuseries about the family, entitled Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets aired the family’s dirty laundry

‘Like, I am an individual—not being lumped together as a whole family, but like getting to know each one of my siblings individually and not like lumping everybody together.’ 

Further in the video, she revealed that she is closest to her sister Jinger – adding that although she loves visiting her sibling, she would never move to Los Angeles.

The family hit headlines when a bombshell report hit the web in 2015 that claimed Josh, now 35, had admitted to molesting four of his siblings years prior, and that his own parents, Jim Bob and Michelle knew about it and failed to report the abuse – it completely shattered the wholesome on-screen image that the family had worked so hard to build over the course of their multiple TLC reality shows.

According to Jill, who spoke out in the explosive Amazon Prime docuseries about the family, entitled Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets, when news of Josh’s alleged abuse was made public in 2015, her dad’s main focus was protecting the family’s squeaky-clean reputation – rather than the victims.

She recalled an ‘urgency’ in ‘trying to figure out’ how the show could continue on in the wake of the scandal.

A report in 2015 claimed that Josh admitted to molesting his siblings years prior, and that his parents Jim Bob nd Michelle knew and failed to report it

According to Jill, when news of Josh’s alleged abuse was made public in 2015, her dad’s main focus was protecting the family’s squeaky-clean reputation – rather than the victims

 In the past, Jinger also spoke out against her family and their ultra-strict beliefs

At the time, she and her younger sister Jessa sat down with Megyn Kelly to discuss the harrowing allegations during a lengthy interview, in which they confirmed that their brother had touched them inappropriately but defended him from people who had branded him as a ‘child molester, pedophile, or rapist.’ 

The explosive Amazon Prime docuseries about the family, entitled Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets saw Jill claiming that her dad tricked her into signing a contract that forced her to continue filming against her will, and that she was given no choice but to video tape the birth of her son despite her telling the production crew that she wasn’t comfortable with it. 

In the past, Jinger also spoke out against her family and their ultra-strict beliefs. 

She laid bare the lasting trauma of her incredibly-strict upbringing, revealing that she was left ‘crippled with anxiety’ and ‘terrified of the outside world’ as a result of the rigid ‘cult-like’ rules she was forced to follow as a child in an interview with People.