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David WalliamsChildren’s books being re-examined after being removed by publisher harpernext allegations of inappropriate behavior Creature Made against the author.
A junior colleague is said to have complained about his conduct, leading to inquiries from other staff members.
Former employees alleged Wire They were advised to work in pairs when meeting them and not to visit their homes.
A spokesman for Walliams said he “strongly denies” any claims and has not been informed of any investigation. harper,
Walliams has faced considerable public criticism over the years, including for using blackface. little britain, and for making obscene comments about contestants during his tenure. Britain’s Got Talent.
And despite her hugely successful literary career – she has brought in £100 million in sales for HarperCollins through dozens of books, which have sold over 60 million copies, and are widely used in schools – Walliams’s books have also repeatedly attracted negative attention for the stereotypes they reinforce, and she has been accused of sexism, classism, fat-shaming and more.
sexism
Walliams often writes about unclothed female characters who find themselves in abusive situations. In his 2013 book demon dentist, Winnie, a social worker who has an “excessive buttocks”, gets trapped in a wire fence, through which she is pushed.
In the story, Walliams writes: “It took Winnie a few moments to realize that she was now only in her underwear… standing in her bra and knickers. The bra was the biggest bra Alfie had ever seen. It looked like it could comfortably hold two footballs, and was bright orange. The knickers, which could have doubled as a children’s play tent, were a shocking shade of pink.”
Female characters in Walliams’ books are depicted as idle or absent, having affairs or abandoning their children.
In billionaire boySince 2010, there has been a character named Sapphire Stone, a “Page 3 girl” depicted as a gold digger.
Walliams writes: “Jo looked at the page. There was a picture of a woman whose clothes seemed to be falling off. Her hair was dyed white blonde and she wore so much make-up it was hard to tell whether she was beautiful or not. Below the image it said, ‘Sapphire, 19, from Bradford. Loves shopping, hates thinking.’
fat-shaming
Walliams’s books make frequent mention of how overweight (and therefore, in his stories, awkward) some of the characters are.
Dhriti Aunty, in 2015 Grandfather’s great escape, Due to its size it cannot be left flat. “She was always a big lady,” says a character in the story, “but she has become pudgy since living above a sweet shop.” If she ever wanted out I would have to hire a crane and demolish a wall.
Meanwhile Sheela, playing a stepmother in 2012 Ratburgeris described as: “Zoe’s stepmother was quite short, but she made up for it by being as broad as she was tall.”
He adds that she is “so lazy that she orders Zoe to cut off her nose for her, although Zoe always said ‘no’. Sheila could even groan while changing the channel with the TV remote.”
Removal of Chinese character ‘Brian Wong, Who Was Never, Ever Wrong’
In 2021, it was announced that a story containing “harmful stereotypes” about Chinese people would be removed from Walliams’s 2016 book. The worst children in the world.
Podcaster Georgie Ma condemned the story in an Instagram post that year, which focuses on a studious young Chinese boy named Brian Wong.
talking to booksellerMa said that the story “normalized jokes on minorities from a young age”, and identified several “negative stereotypes” perpetuated by the story.
These include the way the character is portrayed (“He wears glasses, he looks like an idiot, he has small eyes”), jokes about his name, and his clichéd character traits.
“The whole character model is based on the minority myth where Chinese people are stupid, smart and good at math, we don’t clash and we are high achievers,” Ma said.
In a statement at the time, HarperCollins said: “In consultation with our writer and illustrator we can confirm that a new story will be written to replace ‘Brian Wong’ in future editions. the worst kids in the world,
classism
In 2020, activist and food writer Jack Monroe branded the comedian’s stories as “ridiculous classist fat-shaming nonsense”.
In a thread on X (then Twitter) that went viral, Monroe quoted several of Walliams’ books, including The worst parents in the world, Which was published in the summer of 2020.
Monro accused Walliams of “targeting the working class” and noted how much of his controversial material was recycled. little britain series.
He criticized Walliams for portraying a single mother of two living in a tower block as one of “the worst parents in the world” when “she only loves her children and makes them laugh”.
Monroe said: “I know I probably come across as a joyless harpist, but a white rich man using working-class women as punchlines for his stale old jokes and then spoon-feeding them to children is serious.”
Wire noted that the character’s only “crime appears to be that she wears ‘very bad, homemade outfits’ and is boring”.