Stephen King Books Banned And His Response Is Perfect
If there’s one thing that Stephen King has perfected besides writing freaky novels that push the boundaries of the horror genre, it’s the art of the direct and succinct clapback. Since first joining Twitter, now known as X, in 2013, the iconic and critically-acclaimed author has engaged in some wild beefs with well-known public figures such as Donald Trump and Elon Musk … and those clapbacks have almost been as entertaining as his books. On August 31, Stephen King might have unleashed his greatest response yet upon learning that 23 of his books have been banned in Florida, simply stating “what the f*ck?”
The Burning Three-Word Question
After learning that over two dozen of his books were banned in Florida, Stephen King took to X to offer a very succinct, and maybe not so subtle rebuttal. “Florida has banned 23 [of] my books. What the f*ck?” King’s August 31 X post reads.
The 76-year-old author is among the army of outspoken opponents of the controversial Florida bill that has limited access to literature deemed inappropriate to K-12 students across the state.
Throughout his storied career, King has authored over 200 short stories and more than 70 novels, while having a primary focus on the horror genre. However, as of August 31, 23 of Stephen King’s novels have now been banned throughout school districts located in Florida. Among the list of banned Stephen King books are iconic greats such as Carrie, Cujo, The Dark Tower, Doctor Sleep, and The Green Mile.
Moms For Liberty And Their Crusade
In 2022, Florida governor and one-time presidential hopeful Ron DeSantis signed a piece of historic and sweeping legislation that aimed to remove books that fail to appear on the state-approved reading list.
The move was motivated by complaints made by the conservative group Moms for Liberty, which was designated as “extremist” by the Southern Poverty Law Center in 2022. Known as HB 1069, the law was put in place with the hopes of promoting transparency of reading material made available in each Florida school district and to ban books including any explicit material or race-related teaching material.
Too Many Complaints To Keep Up With
The controversial bill that led to Stephen King’s banned books was also established as an attempt to protect any K-12 student from being exposed to materials detailing stories and accounts of social justice movements. According to the bill, any Florida citizen may request the removal of a book in the Florida school district. The bill has ushered such a steady wave of complaints from parents and concerned citizens that the state has looked to lower the frequency of complaints.
Limits Have Been Put In Place
In July 2024, Florida’s state government passed HB 1285, which limits citizens who are not parents of children currently enrolled in a Florida K-12 program to one complaint of one book per month. However, there are currently no restrictions put in place to prevent parents and guardians from the number of objections or complaints that they are allowed to voice regarding a proposed banned reading material.
The Harm Of Book Banning
On August 29, Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins Publishers, Macmillan Publishers, Simon & Schuster, and Sourcebooks issued a press release announcing a pending lawsuit filed against the state of Florida regarding the controversial book ban. The lawsuit argues that the number of banned Stephen King novels, as well as hundreds of other books, is detrimental to students and is ignoring the educational value of those banned books.
