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Actor and former host of literacy-themed children's television show Reading Rainbow LeVar Burton did not mince words when he spoke out on the wave of book bans that has swept across red states in recent months.
Appearing on The View last Thursday, Burton candidly called the bans of books that discuss race, sexuality and gender "bullsh*t," leading to a conservative uproar over his supposed "blunder."
So Burton immediately spoke out to clarify there was no "blunder," doubling down on his words on The View with a perfect tweet.
See it below.
\u201cI said what I meant and I meant what I said!\u201d— LeVar Burton (@LeVar Burton) 1654857922
Burton spoke plainly and eloquently about the book bans on The View, but for conservative media platform The US Sun, the American version of British right-wing tabloid The Sun, all that was heard was Burton's use of an expletive.
The outlet immediately spun a story about Burton's supposed "blunder" that trended for hours on Twitter, and Burton wasn't having it.
He took to Twitter himself to set the record straight, writing:
"I said what I meant and I meant what I said!"
There was far more to Burton's comments on The View than a mere expletive.
The long-running literacy advocate pointedly underlined for the panel what's actually behind conservatives' more than 1,500 book bans between January 2021 and March of this year, nearly all of them targeting books tackling either race or LGBTQ+ issues.
\u201cOn the push to ban some children\u2019s books, @levarburton tells #TheView, \u201cI\u2019ll be absolutely candid and honest. It\u2019s embarrassing that we are banning books in this country; in this culture; in this day and age.\u201d\n\n\u201cRead the books they\u2019re banning. That\u2019s where the good stuff is!\u201d\u201d— The View (@The View) 1654822801
Burton said:
"It's bullsh*t."
"I’ll be absolutely candid and honest. It’s embarrassing that we are banning books in this country; in this culture; in this day and age..."
The bans have often been launched in response to the right-wing outrage over Critical Race Theory, an academic theory pertaining to institutional and structural racism that conservatives claim, without evidence, is being taught in public schools.
Burton addressed this manufactured controversy in his comments, telling The View panel:
“We have this aversion in this country to knowing about our past. And anything that is unpleasant, we don’t want to do deal with."
Burton then repeated his earlier catchphrase about banned books.
"So read the books they’re banning. That’s where the good stuff is."
"If they don’t want you to read it, there’s a reason why."
On Twitter, people loved what Burton had to say and applauded him for doubling down on it.
\u201cOh man! You know it's bad when LeVar Burton says "bullshit"!\n#BanAssaultWeaponsNotBooks\nhttps://t.co/TEu0zoByn4\u201d— \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6\ud83d\uddfd CoronaViolet THEE Fish Out Of Water \ud83d\uddfd\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6\ud83d\uddfd CoronaViolet THEE Fish Out Of Water \ud83d\uddfd\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1655074287
\u201cFolks are calling LeVar Burton saying that book bannings, book burnings, and the CRT panic are Bullshit on live TV a "Blunder."\n\nBesides the fact that he's, you know, obviously right, I'm wondering how many people have ever listened to the man give an interview.\u201d— Nome (@Nome) 1654819517
\u201cUmm... Levar Burton didn't make a "blunder" on The View... he was asked about book banning and he said it was "bullshit". \n\nNot a blunder... a clear answer to a direct question. (And the correct answer, too.) \n\n#ClickBait #NoOneWasShocked #BanningBooksIsBullshit\u201d— \ud83d\udc3aStorm Faerywolf\ud83c\udf3b (@\ud83d\udc3aStorm Faerywolf\ud83c\udf3b) 1654810494
\u201cThe SUN makes it sound as if @levarburton misspoke or embarrassed himself. The man\u2014who has spent his life making the world better, one children\u2019s book at a time\u2014called banning books for children \u201cbullshit.\u201d Because it\u2019s bullshit. That\u2019s not a blunder. It\u2019s a fact.\u201d— William Ritter (@William Ritter) 1654816937
\u201c@levarburton @Meidas_LaurenA We should make the banned books best sellers again just to spite the fascists.\u201d— LeVar Burton (@LeVar Burton) 1654857922
\u201c@levarburton\u201d— LeVar Burton (@LeVar Burton) 1654857922
\u201c@levarburton It is always satisfying when your fictional heroes turn out to be your real-world heroes too.\u201d— LeVar Burton (@LeVar Burton) 1654857922
\u201cI'm on team Levar.\u201d— Ethical Atheist (@Ethical Atheist) 1654908193
\u201cAbsolute facts @levarburton\u201d— Richard Masucci #ReviewTechUSA (@Richard Masucci #ReviewTechUSA) 1654908243
\u201cLeVar Burton rules! Banning books is bullshit, man! It's just bullshit.\u201d— Benjamin Ahr Harrison (@Benjamin Ahr Harrison) 1654885247
An overwhelming majority of Americans agree with Burton that book bans are bullsh*t.
A CBS poll in February found 85% of respondents don't agree with banning books "discussing race and criticizing U.S. history, for depicting slavery in the past or more broadly for political ideas they disagree with."