Jed Duggar and Wife Katey Spark Backlash for Making COVID Joke in Pregnancy Announcement
Jedidiah "Jed" Duggar and wife Katey (Nakatsu) Duggar have caused quite the stir after sharing their pregnancy announcement.
Jed, 22, and Katey announced on Instagram Monday that they're expecting their first child together. As the couple kissed in their announcement photo, Katey held up a sign that read: "And then there were 3. Baby Duggar. Spring '22."
Jed used a winky face emoji as he wrote alongside the post: "She tested positive, but not for Covid."
Though Jed and Katey largely received congratulatory comments from loved ones and fans alike, some followers took issue with the post's controversial caption.
Without a Crystal Ball host Katie Joy called out Jed and Katey for being "so insensitive" amid the current COVID-19 surge in the pair's native Arkansas.
"Arkansas is facing some of the worst with Covid right now due to low vaccination rates," Joy wrote on Instagram. "656,000 Americans have died from Covid since the virus hit 18 months ago."
Joy also pointed out that the COVID-themed caption was also featured in a photo in their YouTube video announcement, but not shared on Instagram. "Katey & Jed shared this photo in their YouTube video but not on Instagram. Which I'm confident was intentional," she added.
A rep for Jed did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.
Commenters beneath Joy's post largely agreed with her sentiment.
"Having 2 family members pass from COVID, I find this very tasteless and insensitive," one user commented, as another wrote, "I hate this. It's so tacky and distasteful. People are dying."
RELATED: Counting On's Jed Duggar Shares Kiss with Wife Katey Nakatsu During Romantic Honeymoon
Jed Duggar/ instagram
While a third individual noted how "tone deaf" the post is, a fourth person pointed out that it is "definitely not funny or cute, but they probably don't believe it's an issue and probably aren't vaccinated."
"I'm a nurse on the front lines..not so funny!!" said another user, while an account holder commented, "Yeah, that's not actually funny."
"How clueless and rude. And I don't care who uses that 'joke' as an announcement, Duggar or not," wrote an Instagram user.
Jed and Katey — who tied the knot in Arkansas on April 3 after quietly courting — revealed in their announcement video that she took a pregnancy test in a Walmart bathroom.
"He started tearing up. It was so sweet," she recalled of how Jed reacted to the pregnancy news. "And then we, like, started hugging in the middle of Walmart. And he was like, crying. And then we went out, and I started screaming in the parking lot."
Jed Duggar/ instagram
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Katey said that God "answered our prayers" as she added: "His timing is perfect. Like, it is absolutely perfect. So, we're so grateful. So excited."
Jed's family has recently made headlines amid his brother Josh Duggar's ongoing child pornography case.
Homeland Security arrested the 33-year-old in April, and he pleaded not guilty to possessing and receiving child pornography. Josh was later released to third-party custodians LaCount and Maria Reber as he awaits trial, which has been delayed to November.
