The Duggar Family

It is way more likely than not that TLC will cancel "19 Kids and Counting" ... this according to sources connected with the network.

As it was put to us, "If you're betting, you'd be wise to put money on the show getting cancelled."

Our sources say there are several reasons why sentiment inside the network leans in the direction of cancellation. First, TLC honchos feel betrayed that Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar did not disclose the fact that Josh had confessed to molesting 5 young girls, some of whom were his sisters.

The other reality ... as TMZ reported, advertisers are bailing left and right, and the network is in the business of making money.

There's also a notion at TLC that they need to clear the decks of scandals. They did it swiftly with "Honey Boo Boo," and there's a strong feeling the right thing to do is cancel the Duggars as well.

When you combine anger with money, the fate of the show becomes pretty clear.

More advertisers are sending the message loud and clear to TLC ... they don't want ANYTHING to do with "19 Kids and Counting."

Jimmy Dean, Pure Leaf Iced Tea, Ace Hardware, David's Bridal, ConAgra Foods, Party City and Behr have all just announced they've removed their ad campaigns from the show and CVS, H&R Block, Ricola and Keurig all say they have no plans of advertising with the show if it's reinstated.

It's been almost a week since TLC said it was yanking the show from the schedule, at least for the time being. The latest batch of skittish advertisers follow in the footsteps of Walgreens and General Mills.

TLC has still not made a final decision on the future of the show.

3:20 PM PT -- Walgreens just officially pulled the plug on its ads saying, "In the wake of recent news, we are no longer advertising on the '19 Kids and Counting' program."

The backlash from "19 Kids and Counting" star Josh Duggar's molestation admission is snowballing ... two more big advertisers just yanked their ads from the show.

Payless ShoeSource and Choice Hotels both say they're cutting ties with all future episodes of the TLC program.

Several customers voiced complaints to Payless and the company responded by saying, "Our ads ran during this show as part of a larger buy w/ TLC. We are taking steps to have them removed from future episodes." Choice Hotels said, "We have decided to remove our advertising from the show."

Walgreens, another major advertiser with TLC, posted a response saying that they were continuing to monitor the situation.

TMZ broke the story ... shortly after news broke about Josh, General Mills pulled its ads.

Josh Duggar is from Arkansas ... so it's totally cool if he dates his siblings.

Back in 2008 -- long before Duggar's molestation past came to light -- he made a quip during an episode of what was then called "17 Kids and Counting."

Josh describes a double date scenario with his then-fiancée Anna ... he ended up going with 2 of his siblings.

Josh explains, "We chose Jana and John David. We thought why not, have a double date ... We are from Arkansas!"

He then broke out in laughter.

Not so funny now ...

Mama June has given TLC an ultimatum -- either put "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo" back on the air, or she'll sue the network for treating her far more harshly than the Duggar family.

Mama June's lawyer tells TMZ, he gave the network the demand Friday, claiming the family's rights were violated when TLC yanked the show hours after TMZ posted a pic of June with convicted child molester Mark McDaniel. They say Josh Duggar's conduct was far worse, with fewer consequences.

The attorney told TLC the family is willing to work for the same terms as before and they are all on board.

The lawyer told TLC he'd be happy to resolve the matter in court ... where he believes he can score a $1 million jury verdict.

"19 Kids and Counting" may survive the Josh Duggar molestation scandal, but Josh might not.

Connected industry sources tell TMZ, TLC is considering a number of options, weighing the pros and cons. One is to cancel the show outright, the other is to just go full steam ahead, but there is real talk about continuing without Josh.

Our sources say there's a strong sense axing Josh would not materially hurt the show. We're told TLC has done research and it shows the daughters have become the driving force. The weddings of Jill and Jessa were ratings successes, as was the birth of Jill's baby.

It wouldn't be hard to remove Josh. He's moved away from Arkansas to D.C. where he's focused on lobbying Congress. But that could change because he just resigned from the Family Research Council.

As for cancelling the show, our sources say there is significant concern that big advertisers will bail. TMZ broke the story, General Mills has already pulled the plug.

On the other hand, we're told TLC believes the show has a strong, loyal evangelical base and so far support has not wavered.

But removing Josh could be a good middle ground for TLC.

Josh Duggar has pulled the plug on a conference he was scheduled to attend in the most ironic of places ... Sandusky, Ohio.

Josh was supposed to speak at a home schooling convention next week, but in the wake of his public sexual molestation admission, we've learned he's cancelled the appearance.

We're told Josh told the organizers he would be too much of a distraction and didn't want the focus of the conference blurred.

TLC has just pulled all airings of "19 Kids and Counting" from its lineup ... TMZ has learned.

Sources familiar with the situation tell TMZ, the fate of the show is uncertain, but there's now so much heat in the wake of Josh Duggar's molestation confession ... the network had to make the decision.

We're told they absolutely have not made a long-term decision, but it's clearly a bad sign for the show.

And there's this ... a rep for General Mills tells TMZ, they have already blacklisted the show and removed it from their company's current advertising schedule.

As we reported, TLC ran a Duggar marathon Thursday, prominently featuring Josh. There was big backlash, not the least of which came from Mama June, who felt TLC was giving the Duggars a pass for far worse conduct than hers, which caused TLC to pull the plug on 'Honey Boo Boo.'

Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee is coming out swinging for Josh Duggar ... saying he should be forgiven for his sins, because the alleged molestation happened when he was a minor with poor judgment.

The former Arkansas Governor is famously tight with the whole Duggar family, and made it clear ... he's standing by them now that the molestation investigation has come to light. Huckabee says, "Josh’s actions when he was an underage teen are as he described them himself, 'inexcusable,' but that doesn’t mean 'unforgivable.' He and his family dealt with it and were honest and open about it with the victims and the authorities."

Huckabee also believes the 2006 investigation should never have become public. He says the law protects disclosure of many actions by minors because "being a minor means that one's judgment is not mature."

He adds ... Josh has gone on to live a very responsible and Christian life as an adult, and says, "Janet and I want to show up and stand up for our friends."

Huckabee just posted his staunch defense on Facebook -- an incredibly bold move considering he's in the middle of seeking the Republican nomination for president.

The Duggars frequently campaign for Huckabee.

Mama June is so angry TLC has not cancelled "19 Kids and Counting" she's prepared to sue TLC, claiming the Duggar family is way worse than hers, yet they still have a show.

June tells TMZ there is no way TLC can justify keeping the Duggar family on the air yet yanking 'Honey Boo Boo.' June notes within hours of TMZ posting the pic of her cavorting with convicted child molester Mark McDaniel, TLC pulled the plug on her show.

June says she never molested anyone and McDaniel wasn't ever on her show, yet Josh Duggar is a central figure on the TLC show and admitted to molesting some of his sisters, who are also on the show. What's more, she believes Jim Bob and Michelle covered up their son's misdeeds.

With that backdrop, June says she's out hundreds of thousands of dollars because of the abrupt cancellation of her show, and if the Duggar family stays on the air, she wants to sue the network for what she believes is blatantly unfair and inconsistent treatment.

And June adds, "I read that the Duggar family said, this happening with their son brought them closer to God and each other. So they're saying it's ok to have family touch time? Hell no."

Oprah Winfrey took swift action when her production company got a tip that Josh Duggar had molested young girls, including some of his sisters, refusing to go through with a scheduled appearance on her talk show.

As we reported, the first tip about Josh Duggar was sent to a staffer at Harpo. The email was received on December 7, 2006 at 6:30 AM. The email not only refers to the molestation, the author also claims Jim Bob and Michelle covered it up.

Oprah's people sent the email to a child abuse hotline.

The Duggars were already in Chicago for the taping, which was scheduled within a day of the email. Oprah's staff jumped so quickly, we've learned at 1:17 PM the same day, an Arkansas State Police officer contacted Michelle, telling her she needed to bring Josh back home immediately for an interview.

Turns out there was no conflict, because Oprah's people immediately cancelled the taping and sent the family home.

TLC seems undaunted by Josh Duggar's admission he molested young girls -- including some of his sisters -- when he was a teenager, because the network ran a Josh-centric marathon last night.

TLC's been radio silent about the revelations, but it seems all systems are still go, because Josh was right there, front and center, with one of the episodes focusing on the gender of their unborn child, and another featuring Josh playing with his kids.

Josh Duggar has resigned as Executive Director of the Family Research Council, acknowledging he sexually molested underage girls including some of his sisters, calling his conduct inexcusable.

Josh says, "Twelve years ago, as a young teenager. I acted inexcusably for which I am extremely sorry and deeply regret." He continues, "We spoke with authorities where I confessed my wrongdoing, and my parents arranged for me and those affected by my actions to receive counseling."

The molestations occurred in 2002 and 2003, when he was 14. He fondled the genitals and breasts of the girls, some of whom were sleeping.

Josh's wife Anna says he confessed his "past teenage mistakes" to her 2 years before he asked her to marry him.

The incidents were not reported to police until 2006, and the statute of limitations has now long since passed. But Josh says he believes God has shown him mercy and given him redemption.

Police are about to destroy all the names and details surrounding "19 Kids and Counting" star Josh Duggar's molestation case ... after one of his alleged victims asked a judge to protect her identity.

The alleged victim -- only referred to as "Jane Doe" in the docs -- was worried an unredacted copy of the police report might see the light of day. She argued the court had a duty to destroy the report, and the judge agreed ... signing the order Thursday afternoon.

As we previously reported ... Duggar was the subject of a police investigation in 2006 for allegedly sexually molesting five girls, some of whom are his sisters.

He was never prosecuted and the statute of limitations ran out.

Josh Duggar, one of the members of the family that stars in TLC's "19 Kids and Counting" ... was the subject of a police investigation for allegedly sexually molesting 5 girls, some of whom are his sisters.

The story was broken by In Touch Weekly, but TMZ has confirmed with law enforcement that Josh Duggar -- who was around 14 at the time -- was the alleged molester against 5 girls starting in 2002.

According to the police report, Josh fondled the genitals and breasts of the girls, some of whom were sleeping, but sometimes they were interacting with him ... in one case reading a book.

There was another reported incident 9 months later. According to the police report, the police were not immediately contacted. Instead, Jim Bob, the dad, met with church elders and agreed Josh should be put in a treatment program. The police report says Josh's mom, Michelle, said it wasn't really a treatment center ... they simply sent Josh to a guy who was remodeling a building to do manual labor.

In 2006, the family was scheduled to appear on "Oprah," and before the show someone sent an email to Harpo warning that Josh had molested girls. Harpo forwarded the email to a hotline, which triggered a police investigation.

Cops wanted to question Josh, but Jim Bob lawyered him up and Josh declined the invitation.

Josh, who is now 27, apparently cannot be charged because the statute of limitations has run.

As for the Duggars, one of the family members told investigators, "this entire incident had brought the family closer to God" ... this according to the police report.

Michelle Duggar is convinced ... child predators are aiming to use the cover of being a transgender to hurt children ... and she's determined to stop them in their tracks.

The "19 Kids and Counting" star is on the warpath against a proposed Arkansas law that would allow transgender people to use either the men's or women's bathroom -- whichever they feel suits them best.

Duggar thinks convicted male child molesters will have a field day if the law passes ... simply dressing up like a woman and perving out in girls restrooms.