A children’s book about a gay rabbit is about to get a lot more popular in Vice President Mike Pence’s home state.
Max Mutchnick, the showrunner and co-creator of “Will & Grace,” announced Friday that he will donate A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo to the more than 1,100 public elementary schools in Indiana. Comedian John Oliver created the queer-themed picture book, which features Pence’s pet bunny, to draw attention to the anti-LGBTQ stance of the state’s former governor.
“I would like to donate this copy of A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo to your library,” Mutchnick wrote in a letter posted to his social media pages, which was addressed to grammar school libraries in Indiana. “After hearing about the book, I brought it home and read it to my twin daughters. It’s a poignant story about how love and community can rise above intolerance.”
“Mike Pence has had an enormous platform in Indiana, and as it relates to gay people, he’s used it to spread a message of intolerance,” Mutchnick wrote in his caption on Instagram. “By donating these books, I hope to counter those efforts and provide positive role models and a story of inclusion for children in Pence’s home state.”
A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo is a spoof of Marlon Bundo’s A Day in the Life of the Vice President, a children’s book written by Pence’s daughter, Charlotte, and illustrated by his wife. The lampoon version, written by Jill Twiss, depicts the Pence family bunny, Marlon Bundo, falling in love with and getting married to another male rabbit.
The book has seen tremendous success since Oliver introduced it on “Last Week Tonight” on March 18, and it currently tops the best-seller list on Amazon. Charlotte Pence has said she’s “all for” the book and that she even bought a copy.
Oliver and Charlotte Pence are both donating proceeds from their books to charity.