Stephen King Mocked Relentlessly For Absurd Claim About Supposed Book Bans

Horror novelist Stephen King is one of the most popular authors in modern history, but these days he mostly makes news for his far-left social media tirades.

That was again the case when he complained that nearly two dozen of his books had been “banned” in Florida as part of a crackdown on allowing children to access inappropriate material in schools.

Almost immediately, however, his post was inundated with replies by people who pointed out how inaccurate his claim actually was.

As the Daily Wire reported:

Stephen King was dragged on social media after he made an overly-broad claim about how more than two dozen of his books were supposedly banned throughout the state of Florida.

In a post on Sunday on X, the 76-year-old horror author claimed that “Florida has banned 23 [of] my books. What the f***?” It later went viral, with more than 14 million views at the time of this publication.

However, as many pointed out in the responses, none of King’s books have been completely banned in the state. Rather, Florida passed legislation in 2022 that prevents “sexually explicit material” from being in school libraries and seeks to ensure there are only age-appropriate books.

Here are some of the most emphatic responses:

You’re lying. Some of your books that contain explicit sexual material were removed from elementary schools. But let’s talk about why you’re mad about this… Do you think it’s appropriate for children to read about orgies?

— Liz Wheeler (@Liz_Wheeler) September 2, 2024

Babe, elementary school kids don’t need to be reading The Shining. It’s not personal. It’s parenting.

— Jennifer Greenberg 🕊️ (@JennMGreenberg) September 1, 2024

Removing books from a SCHOOL library bc they may not be appropriate for the age group is NOT a ban Mr. King. The parents can go to a public library in town or any bookstore in FL and purchase or check out any book they would like including yours.

You have a robust vocabulary and…

— Artist_Angie: Sensei of sARTcasm (@Artist_Angie) September 1, 2024

This was not the first time King had been called out for his clearly biased take on Florida’s policies:

Does this include pornography? Because I’m pretty sure parents don’t want you telling their children to access pornographic material.

— Stephen Miller (@StephenM) January 18, 2023

I'm not sure Stephen understands how creepy this is, considering the materials that are being restricted are openly pornographic.

— Nick Freitas (@NickJFreitas) January 18, 2023

The blatant misrepresentation of his state’s actions led Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to release an official statement last year debunking his critics’ claims:

“Exposing the ‘book ban’ hoax is important because it reveals that some are attempting to use our schools for indoctrination,” said Governor Ron DeSantis. “In Florida, pornographic and inappropriate materials that have been snuck into our classrooms and libraries to sexualize our students violate our state education standards. Florida is the education state and that means providing students with a quality education free from sexualization and harmful materials that are not age appropriate.”

“Education is about the pursuit of truth, not woke indoctrination,” said Florida Commissioner of Education Manny Diaz, Jr. “Under Governor DeSantis, Florida is committed to rigorous academic content and high standards so that students learn how to think and receive the tools necessary to go forth and make great decisions.”

Here are some additional remarks by the governor: