Jed Duggar and Wife Katey Face Backlash for Making Light of COVID-19 in Pregnancy Announcement
"She tested positive, but not for Covid."
That's the punny caption Jed Duggar (of 19 Kids and Counting and Counting On fame) chose on Instagram while revealing his wife, Katey Nakatsu, is pregnant with their first child.
Jed, 22, added a winking face to his post and referred fans to the couple's vlog of their baby announcement. "I have been feeling kind of funny the past few weeks. I've been having cramping, bloating," Katey, 23, shared onscreen. "We just decided I need to take a pregnancy test." Jed interjected, shouting, "It's positive! Woo!"
The pair, who got married in Arkansas in April, shared photos of themselves kissing while holding a sign that read "Baby Duggar Spring ‘22."
Yet, fans weren't so thrilled for the parents-to-be because of the "insensitive" joke. Jed limited comments on his Instagram post, with family members Jill Dillard, Jeremiah Duggar, Claire Duggar and Jason Duggar wishing them a massive congratulations.
The Complete Duggar Family Tree
However, social media users made their distaste known on other posts, with some saying their "immaturity" was evident in the "cringey" and "tone deaf" caption.
One Instagram user wrote, "Having 2 family members pass from COVID, I find this very tasteless and insensitive." Another said, "I hate this. It's so tacky and distasteful. People are dying."
The Counting On reality stars were also called out for their privilege, with one user writing, "This is so disgusting and insensitive along with how their white privilege is showing. I have family members on the frontlines who are nurses and this is beyond horrible."
Nearly 650,000 Americans have died of COVID-19 so far. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention continues to recommend that everyone 12 years and older get vaccinated.
In their YouTube vlog, Katey explained that she took the pregnancy test in a Walmart bathroom. "I had a little moment there in the bathroom," she said. After telling Jed it was positive, "He started tearing up," she recalled. "It was so sweet."
He shared, "It was the most amazing news."
E! News has reached out to their reps for comment.
For the latest updates on the coronavirus pandemic and for tips on how to prevent the spread of COVID-19, please visit The Center for Disease Control and Prevention at https://www.cdc.gov. To plan your vaccine, head to NBC's Plan Your Vaccine site at PlanYourVaccine.com.
