Derick Dillard Says TLC Should've Helped Pay His Son’s Medical Bills, & Fans Are Confused

It's no secret that Derick Dillard doesn't think highly of TLC, the network that airs Counting On. Ever since Dillard left the show (or was fired, depending on what you believe), for comments he made about transgender reality star Jazz Jennings, he has had nothing positive to say about TLC. And on Thursday, the bad blood intensified when Derick Dillard argued that TLC should've helped pay his son's medical bills. Although it's not clear what sparked the shocking tweet, one thing is for certain: Counting On fans have no idea what Dillard is talking about.

Prior to Dillard calling transgender people a myth in August 2017 and his departure from Counting On three months later, he appeared happy to be working with TLC. From TLC cameras following Dillard and his wife, Jill Duggar, on their mission trip to Central America to the couple participating in countless specials, everything seemed hunky dory. Per Dillard, however, this was not the case.

Apparently, Dillard is bitter that TLC didn't front the bill for the cost of Jill's emergency C-section in April 2015. As fans might recall, Jill was rushed to the hospital after she spent 70 hours in labor with her eldest son, Israel. At the time, Israel was showing signs of fetal distress (Jill noted meconium staining on her pad), and the emergency C-section was performed to save his life.

Of course, an emergency C-section is not cheap, especially if you're uninsured or are out of work. Luckily for Dillard, however, at the time of Israel's birth, he was working as an accountant for Walmart. It's possible that Dillard was pulling $44,000 a year, according to InTouch Weekly, and one might assume his job afforded him health benefits. Not to mention, Dillard was presumably taking home paychecks from his work on 19 Kids & Counting (yep, the show was still around at the time).

But even though Dillard admitted that he could pay the bills "fine," he still maintains that TLC should have at least helped out. Additionally, Dillard claims that TLC didn't pay himself or Jill for their time on the show. In response to a question about Israel's medical bill, Dillard stated, according to Twitter:

We could pay for it fine; I had a great job. The point is, I thought that at least since they were making money off the birth special episode, they could help soften the burden a little ... And no, as far as we could tell, we were volunteers and hadn’t been paid anything 4 the show

TLC and Dillard did not immediately respond to Romper’s request for comment.

As for the birth special Dillard is referring to, it's true that 19 Kids & Counting aired an episode that detailed Israel's arrival. What's less clear, however, is Dillard's claim that TLC didn't pay them for their participation in the show. The claim seems a bit confusing when you consider that, back in 2009, E! News reported that the Duggars pulled in $25,000 and $40,000 per episode for 19 Kids & Counting. As for Counting On, its estimated that its stars make anywhere from $6,250 to $10,000 a day, according to InTouch Weekly. Unless Jim Bob Duggar is hoarding all of the reality TV coins for himself, it doesn't necessarily add up that Dillard wasn't paid.

Reality TV salaries aside, people are extremely confused about Dillard's financial situation.

Adding fuel to the fire is Dillard's argument on Wednesday that TLC should have helped him out because it made a "pretty penny" on Israel's birth special.

"We even requested that they help with some of the medical expenses from the birth that they made a pretty penny on, but they refused to help cover any of those costs," Dillard said, according to Twitter. "It was close to a year before we made the last medical payment."

Unsurprisingly, fans started replying to Dillard's tweet to express their irritation with his logic.

In the coming days, it will be interesting to see if TLC issues a statement denying Dillard's numerous gripes. Whether you support Dillard's tweets or not, most Counting On fans can agree that his claims are nothing short of explosive. And only time will tell if TLC decides to tackle Dillard's messages head-on.

Check out Romper's new video series, Bearing The Motherload, where disagreeing parents from different sides of an issue sit down with a mediator and talk about how to support (and not judge) each other’s parenting perspectives. New episodes air Mondays on Facebook.