John Oliver and his “Last Week Tonight” team have a hit.
The HBO program trolled Vice President Mike Pence and his family, who published a book about their pet rabbit on Monday, by releasing its own version of the tale in which the bunny is gay.
And the show’s bunny book is topping the charts.
A Day In the Life Of Marlon Bundo, penned by “Last Week Tonight” writer Jill Twiss and illustrated by EG Keller, hit the top spot on Amazon with the Kindle version reaching #2 on the list. The audiobook, read by Jim Parsons and featuring the voices of several other celebrities, also debuted at #1 on the website’s audiobook chart.
The Pence family’s tale, Marlon Bundo’s Day in the Life of the Vice President, currently sits at #3 on Amazon’s children’s book charts.
Oliver unveiled the book on Sunday night after a segment detailing Pence’s longtime hostility to the LGBTQ community. Not only does the show’s book feature a gay rabbit ― and a stink bug villain that looks suspiciously like Pence ― but proceeds from its sales will be donated to the Trevor Project, which supports LGBTQ youth, as well as the AIDS United charity.
Proceeds from the Pence family’s book will go to Tracy’s Kids, an art program for children with cancer, and A21, which fights human trafficking.
While Oliver predicted that selling more books than Pence “would probably really piss him off,” the vice president’s family took the competition in stride. An image posted on Marlon Bundo’s official Instagram page on Monday showed the rabbit in a sassy bowtie much like the one his gay doppelgänger wears in the Oliver-backed book: