The American Library Association (ALA) listed John Oliver’s book about gay bunnies as one of the most “challenged” books in 2018 as part of a report released Sunday.
Pictured are Karen and Charlotte Pence discussing their book, “Marlon Bundo’s Day in the Life of the Vice President.” Screenshot/ YouTube/PBSNewsHour
“Last Week Tonight with John Oliver Presents A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo,” credited to staff writer Jill Twiss, seemingly mocks Vice President Mike Pence’s beliefs on homosexuality and gay marriage. The story follows the Pence family’s bunny Marlon Bundo, who wants to be with another male bunny after falling in love. Oliver’s book is parody of “Marlon Bundo’s Day in the Life of the Vice President,” co-authored by Charlotte and Karen Pence.
It was placed on the list over “LGBTQIA+ content, political and religious viewpoints,” according to the ALA.
Other books in the top challenged books included content surrounding LGBTQ, “anti-cop” and religious viewpoint themes, according to the State of America’s Libraries 2019 report. (RELATED: Florida Teacher Under Investigation After Reading Book About Gay Bunnies To First Graders)
A challenge is a “formal, written complaint filed with a library or school requesting that materials be removed because of content or appropriateness,” The Associated Press reported.
The ALA normally lists the top 10 books, but included 11 for 2019. Two of the books named were signed out and burned by a man in Iowa protesting the LGBTQ themes, according to the ALA.
“OIF [ Office for Intellectual Freedom ] expanded the list to include both, in order to spotlight the repressive intolerance exemplified by the act of book burning and to remember that ‘he who destroys a good book kills reason itself’ (John Milton, Areopagitica),” ALA said in its report.
More than 480 books were either challenged or banned in 2018, according to the ALA.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.