Babylon Bee receives legal threat from Seuss Enterprises to remove satirical 'Cat in the Hat' post

On Sunday, CEO of the Babylon Bee Seth Dillion tweeted an email he received from Seuss Enterprises demanding that they remove a post about The Cat In The Hat giving kids puberty blockers when their mother isn't home.

The satire piece in question, posted March 5, 2021, talked about a new Dr. Seuss book called The Cat in the Hat (He/Him).

"In this new book, using reworked art from Dr. Seuss,” said a letter from Dr. Seuss’s estate, “the Cat in the Hat once again finds the two children home alone and bored. This time he diagnoses their malaise as gender dysphoria and proceeds to give the children puberty blockers," the article reads.

An "excerpt" from the book reads as follows:

"I have some new drugs,"
said the cat in the hat.
"A lot of good drugs!
I'll inject them in you.
Your mother will not mind at all if I do."

The legal team from Seuss Enterprises wrote that regardless of whether the piece was satire or not, it broke copyright and defamation laws. They threatened that if it wasn't taken down they would "proceed accordingly."

Dillon shot back that since the piece is satire, it  is protected under fair use and would not be taken down. He added that the best rhyme he was given would be sent in response.