Actor and Christian activist Kirk Cameron is claiming that more than 50 public libraries have rejected his applications to hold a “story hour” to promote his new faith-based children’s book, accusing them of indulging the “woke left.”
The “Growing Pains” star says he hasn’t been given a story hour slot in public libraries, claiming that his publisher, Brave Books, has been told the messaging of his faith-based book, “As You Grow,” “does not align” with the LGBTQ-welcoming institutions.
Dozens of public libraries in the US have reportedly rejected or not responded to his publisher’s request for the former child star to hold an event, according to Fox News.
“We are a very queer-friendly library. Our messaging does not align,” one library worker from Rochambeau Public Library in Providence, Rhode Island — which promotes an event called the “Queer Umbrella” — reportedly told Brave Books.
Cameron, 52, has previously condemned gay people, saying that homosexuality is “unnatural,” “detrimental” and “ultimately destructive.”
Fox reported that the publisher was told by the library official, “You can fill out the form to reserve space, to run the program in our space — but we won’t run your program.”
Another branch, City Heights/Weingart Branch Library, in San Diego, California, told them they didn’t think that’s something they would do, citing the diverse community as their reason.
“I don’t know how many people you would get,” the individual reportedly said.
Brave Books took umbrage with the library’s responses, noting that some have hosted LGBTQ+ story times with drag queens in the past and wondering why they were being rejected.
“It is devastating to discover that many of our publicly funded libraries have now become indoctrination centers that refuse to allow biblical wisdom to be taught to our children,” Trent Talbot, founder and CEO of Texas-based Brave Books, said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
Cameron described his book as teaching “biblical wisdom and the value of producing the fruit of the spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, self-control,” with his publisher accusing libraries of pandering to the “woke left.”
“The woke left understands that morality is instilled by the age of 10, and they want their morality to win, not the morality that the Bible teaches,” Talbot said.
“This is proof that more than ever, we are getting destroyed in the battle for the hearts and minds of our children,” Cameron ranted to Fox. “Publicly funded libraries are green-lighting ‘gender marker and name change clinics’ while denying a story time that would involve the reading of a book that teaches biblical wisdom. How much more clear can it get?”
Drag queen storytime events — which involve performers in drag outfits reading books to kids — are a contentious issue around the country, causing an outcry by some who deem it detrimental to children.
This past weekend, a Columbus, Ohio, drag queen story hour was canceled when far-right extremist organizations including the Proud Boys, White Lives Matter Ohio and Patriot Front planned to protest the event.
According to reports, about 50 people — some carrying weapons — rallied against the event.