Pink plans to give out 2000 'banned books' at Florida concert

On Monday, the singer known as Pink announced that she would be handing out banned books at her upcoming concerts in Florida in protest over the state's decision to prevent children from having access to sexually explicit literature in schools.

She is scheduled to perform in Miami and Sunrise on November 13 and 14, respectively, and will close out her Trustfall tour with two shows in Orlando on the 18 and 19.

According to Rolling Stone, the award-winning vocalist vowed to distribute 2,000 banned books during those dates.

"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," Pink said in a press release, adding, "It's especially hateful to see authorities take aim at books about race and racism and against LGBTQ authors and those of color."

On Sunday, Pink posted a video to Instagram of a conversation she had with Suzanne Nossel, CEO of the nonprofit she'd partnered with, PEN America.

"They're going after books about children of color, stories about LGBTQ families, books about babies, about animals," the artist said. "This is censorship ... It's meant to supress narratives that we need here in a pluralistic society."

Pink went on to recall a conversation with her mother, who said, "Honey this is how the Holocaust started, when they started burning books."

The singer branded those seeking to remove certain titles from libraries as "extremists," and urged her fans to "please run out as fast as you can and get your hands on these books because they're amazing books."

Included in her list of banned books were The Great Gatsby, Catcher in the Rye, and other classic titles, however she failed to mention any of the titles in the genre that account for the bulk of those being taken off the shelves: sexually explicit material.

"Periodic reminder that when they accuse us of 'banning books' they're referring to p0rnographic books which are offered to kids in schools across the country," Libs of TikTok pointed out. "For some reason they never provide visuals… Now Pink is pledging to give kids p0rnographic books in Florida. Why would a singer want kids reading p0rn?"

The book "bans" are a result of Florida's HB 1069, which allows parents to have more oversight as to what is on school shelves. 

That bill "enhances the process for transparency and review of library and classroom materials available to students in public schools and the process for parents to limit student access to materials and make objections to materials. The bill requires the suspension of materials alleged to contain pornography or obscene depictions of sexual conduct, as identified in current law, pending resolution of an objection to the material. A district school board must also discontinue the use of any material the board does not allow a parent to read aloud."