Is Michelle Duggar's Baby Voice Actually Real? Here's What We Know
Jun. 2 2023, Published 3:11 p.m. ET
Reality television sure does fit a lot of molds. From the kindness we see on shows like The Great British Bake Off, to the cutthroat strategizing involved in Survivor, it certainly highlights the human condition. For nearly 20 years, the Duggar family has been in the public eye due largely in part to their unorthodox lifestyle.
Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar are conservative Christians whose beliefs have contributed to the fact that as of the time of this writing, they have 19 biological children and have adopted one child. As Independent Fundamentalist Baptists who follow a deeply conservative Christian organization known as the Institute of Basic Life Principals (IBLP), they also subscribe to some ideas that might contribute to something fans of the shows have picked up on. Michelle Duggar's voice is very childlike. Is it an act?
What is up with Michelle Duggar's voice? She kind of sounds like a baby.
Ever since 19 Kids and Counting and Counting On have been on-air, Michelle Duggar's voice has been a topic of discussion for fans of the shows. Specifically, they're confused by the fact that she speaks with a high-pitched baby voice. And while that's certainly possible as vocal ranges vary, hers seems forced.
In October 2017, Reddit user va1328 who claimed to know the Duggar family, hopped onto the website to do an AMA (Ask Me Anything). This person said they come from a family very similar to the Duggars, though not quite as strict. For example, the girls are permitted to wear pants. They claimed that their mother is friends with Michelle via an "outlet for Christian mothers who share her beliefs (homesteading, no birth control, homeschooling...). They have been close since long before the TV show."
Amid the flurry of questions, one person asked about Michelle's voice. "Did Michelle talk to you in a baby voice? Does she do that to everyone?" Apparently Michelle's soft voice isn't her voice at all. "Michelle didn't used to use her 'mothering' voice all the time, but seems to use it more," replied the original poster. They then suggested she has "gotten used to using it so much after so many children."
In the documentary Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets, which is currently available on Prime Video, Michelle's niece Amy King (née Duggar) addressed the vocal elephant in the room. According to her, Michelle's softened voice is an affectation she uses to appear meek and subservient. Obeying one's husband is a cornerstone of their religion, so it's no surprise that women would go out of their way to appear smaller.
Were Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar involved in the documentary?
Jim Bob and Michelle released a statement about the documentary on their website, and they don't sound pleased. "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," they wrote. Honestly, putting documentary in quotes is hilarious. It's definitely a documentary, regardless of how they feel about it.
They go on to say, "Like other families, ours too has experienced the joys and heartbreaks of life, just in a very public format." They forgot to mention the fact that they signed up for the "public format." But wait, it gets better as the Duggar patriarch and matriarch suggest that they've always tried to repair "damaged relationships, or to reconcile differences, is through love in a private setting." A private setting of two television shows?
The statement is a whole bunch of vague sentences, which ends with Jim Bob and Michelle promising nothing will affect the relationships they have with their family. And of course this will only make their faith stronger. Well, we think they doth protest too much.
