P!nk has announced that she will be giving away 2,000 copies of banned books at her upcoming concerts in Florida.
The singer has teamed up with PEN America to distribute copies of Todd Parr’s The Family Book, Amanda Gorman’s The Hill We Climb, Toni Morrison’s Beloved, and Stacia Deutsch’s Girls Who Code, all books that are currently prohibited from schools and libraries in Florida.
Speaking about the collaboration with PEN America in a statement, P!nk said: “Books have held a special joy for me from the time I was a child, and that’s why I am unwilling to stand by and watch while books are banned by schools.”
She continued: “It’s especially hateful to see authorities take aim at books about race and racism and against LGBTQ authors and those of colour. We have made so many strides toward equality in this country and no one should want to see this progress reversed.”
Over 1,400 books have been banned from the state’s public schools and libraries since last year according to the organisation. The majority of the books that have been targeted deal with topics such as racism, sexuality, gender, and history.
Recently, Steve Martin’s 2000 novella Shopgirl was banned in Florida.
In response to the news, Martin wrote on Instagram on Monday (November 6): “So proud to have my book Shopgirl banned in Collier County, Florida! Now people who want to read it will have to buy a copy!”
The book was removed “effective immediately” following notorious Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signing House Bill 1069, which prohibits content containing “sexual conduct” from appearing in schools.
In other P!nk news, the singer recently shared the story behind the drug overdose she suffered at age 16 just weeks before signing her first record deal.
The pivotal incident occurred in November 1995, P!nk recalled. “Thanksgiving of 1995, I was at a rave, and I overdosed. I was on, oh boy – ecstasy, angel dust, crystal, all kinds of things,” she shared. “Then I was out. Done. Too much.”