Pink pledges to give out banned books at Florida gigs
Pink will be handing out banned book titles in Florida this week. (Getty Images)
As if she wasnāt already one of the most iconic celebrity allies, Pink has pledged to give away 2,000 copies of the most frequently banned books to fans at her upcoming Florida gigs.
In an act of protest against Florida lawmakersā attempts to stifle free speech and LGBTQ+ stories, Pink has teamed up with non-profit organisation PEN America to give away thousands of books that have been banned by the southern state.
According to PEN America, Florida now boasts the most banned books in public school classrooms and libraries in all of the US. Overall, it accounts for over 40 per cent of all banned books nationwide.
To counter this, Pink has decided to give these banned titles out to the first 1,000 fans who show up at her Miami and Sunrise gigs this week.
The āSo Whatā singer announced her plans in an Instagram Live discussion with PEN America CEO Suzanne Nossel and poet Amanda Gorman on Monday (13 November).
āBooks have held a special joy for me from the time I was a child, and thatās why I am unwilling to stand by and watch while books are banned by schools,ā she explained.
āItās especially hateful to see authorities take aim at books about race and racism and against LGBTQ authors and those of color. We have made so many strides toward equality in this country and no one should want to see this progress reversed.
āThis is why I am supporting PEN America in its work and why I agree with them: no more banned books.ā
Among the books that Pink has decided to hand out are titles like The Family Book by Todd Parr, The Hill We Climb by Amanda Gorman, and a book from the Girls Who Code series, founded by Reshma Saujani.
Re-sharing the Instagram Live discussion to her account, Pink, who is mum to Willow, 12, and Jameson, six, added: āAs a mom of two young readers, I canāt imagine letting someone else decide what MY CHILDREN can and cannot read!ā
Pink did face some backlash from far-right conservatives after the collaboration was announced, but the recording artist had time to clap back.
Taking to her X (aka Twitter) account, the āJust Give Me A Reasonā singer made it clear that she wasnāt going to be deterred by weak attempts at insults.
āYou know youāve hit a sore spot in a weak mind when their only argument is āSheās ugly!ā, āSheās fat!ā, āSheās irrelevantā,ā she wrote.
āREAD BANNED BOOKS! GO TO @PENAMERICA TO LEARN HOW YOU CAN STOP THE BANS AND THE NONSENSEā
One troll tried to challenge the songstress by writing: āIf @Pink is able to give them away, then they arenāt banned. Has she read these porn books to her kids? I bet she hasnāt even read them. Dare her to read them aloud at her concerts. See what happens.ā
But Pink simply replied: āOnly if itās a double dog dare!!!ā
Standing firm, the āTryā singer added: āThe following are some titles of books that have been banned from schools in Floridaā¦. Lmk which book is pornographyā¦. To Kill A Mockingbird, The Hate You Give, Forrest Gump, A Catcher In The Rye, The Hill We Climb, Girls Who Code, Atlas Shrugged, 1984, The Kite Runner, The Bluest Eye, A Wrinkle In Time, The Diary of Anne Frank, The Fault In Our Stars, etc etc.ā
Pink isnāt the first celebrity to come for Floridaās book bans, either. Back in September some of the biggest stars in the business from Ariana Grande and Gabrielle Union to Mark Ruffalo and Andy Cohen signed an open letter to denounce book bans nationwide.
How did this story make you feel?
