John Oliver's gay version of Vice President Mike Pence's book about a bunny is currently topping several bestseller lists. Find out where to buy it here.
Marlon Bundo's Day in the Life of the Vice President was published by Vice President Mike Pence published on Monday. The children's book chronicles the daily life of the Pence family's pet bunny, Marlon Bundo. The proceeds from the book's sale are being donated to Tracy's Kids, a charity that provides art education to children with cancer, and A21, a group that combats human trafficking.
In Oliver's version, A Day In the Life Of Marlon Bundo, the host of HBO's Last Week Tonight tweaked the title character into a fanciful gay bunny who falls in love with another boy bunny. The book also features a villainous stink bug with an uncanny resemblance to Pence.
Oliver published the book on Sunday, and noted Pence's staunchly anti-LGBT record as the inspiration for the story. All of the proceeds will be gifted to the Trevor Project, a non-profit that supports LGBT youth, and the AIDS United charity, which helps fight and stop the spread of the deadly disease caused by HIV.
"With its message of #tolerance and #advocacy, this charming children's picture book explores issues of same sex marriage and democracy. #MarlonBundo," AIDS United tweeted on Sunday.
Literally overnight, Oliver's book was propelled to the number one spot on Amazon's list of bestselling children's books, while Pence's tale made it to number three. A Day In the Life Of Marlon Bundo also made it to the number two spot on Kindle. The audiobook version, read by actor Jim Parsons, is currently the number one download on Audible, Amazon's e-book service.
Parsons, who himself is gay, issued a touching statement about the book and expressed his support for LGBT youth and the daily struggle many of them endure.
"Am honored beyond belief to be a part of the audio book version of A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo, a children's book with a story about tolerance and advocacy, dedicated to every bunny who has ever felt different."
"Selling more books than Pence will probably *really* piss him off," Oliver said of his book.
To their credit, the Pence family welcomed the alternate version because of the additional money it will generate for charitable causes. On Monday, Marlon Bundo posted a picture to Instagram with a caption that included the hashtag #BOTUS, short for Bunny of the United States.
"Not gonna lie, I do look pretty fly in a bow tie. The only thing better than one bunny book for charity is... TWO books for charity. #BOTUS"