What next? Now woke police think David Walliams’ kids’ books are racist, fat-shaming and woman-hating

Millions of David Walliams’ books have been sold around the world and are loved by their young readers, but guess what? According to the lefty fun sponges, they’re guilty of a string of politically incorrect crimes.

Laughs have recently been a sparse commodity, but the furore raging among the ‘enlightened’ middle classes over children’s literature provides us with a hilarious insight into the vacuous realm of the woke warriors and their world of worry.

The target this time is David Walliams, one half of the duo with Matt Lucas who made the previously funny – and now, we are told, decidedly not funny – comedy series Little Britain.

Broadcasters have been furiously deleting on-demand episodes that contain skits with Walliams prancing about in period costume declaring “But I’m a lay-dee,” Lucas as the disability impostor, leaving his wheelchair behind to dive from the high board at the local swimming pool while his carer is distracted, lots of vomiting, and jokes about fat people.

So while the army of the woke are in a frenzy over the fact that people used to laugh at this stuff, the fact that Walliams is also a successful children’s author has them dizzy with rage.

It has all been led by one of their self-appointed commanders in chief, Jack Monroe, described as a food blogger, activist, journalist... whatever sounds credible.

I know, I hear you ask, what does food blogging have to do with children’s literature? Nothing, but she also has a young son, so ipso facto, is an expert on all things child.

She remains a fixture in the media writing recipes and popular cookbooks for austerity and Covid-19 lockdown while putting her ‘activist’ hat on when something attracts her attention. Like a bored frog sitting on a log waiting for a fly to pass.

While reserving a lot of her ire for those who dare disrespect the working class, a recent post on social media had her grumbling that she couldn’t find any nduja for a dish she was cooking and just had to use a load of butter with the chorizo ring instead. Working class indeed.

What caught the eye of this specialist cookbook author about Walliams is the subject matter of his books – 26 at the last count – which she finds objectionable.

These are kids’ books, let’s get that straight, most for those aged eight years or older, although he has done a few picture books for younger children. Gangsta Granny, Ratburger, The World’s Worst Parents, and The World’s Worst Teachers are among the titles, and these and others are on school reading lists across the country.

They are full of kid stuff. Lots of snot, poo, vomit, name-calling, bad behaviour, pig ignorance, anti-authoritarian sentiment; all the sorts of topics bound to make them a hit with their target audience.

Maybe not so popular with non-binary humour vacuums like Jack Monroe and her legion of snowflakes.

They piled on in once Monroe had flicked her hand, commando style, over her shoulder and alerted her troops to Walliams as the target.

One disciple replied: “Oh thank the deities someone has finally said it! Cannot abide those books. Dreadful, racist, classist dreck. Have never understood why they are even remotely successful.”

The question is, if Walliams’ books are so vile, why was there a need to wait for a person who writes recipes for a living to point it out?

Surely any concerns should be raised with the teachers and school librarians who encourage young pupils to read these alarming works, not within the echo chamber of social media?

Monroe recently spent a good part of her working day detailing things that offended her in Walliams’ books, identifying settings and themes that he and Lucas had used as the basis of sketches on Little Britain, and chastising him for using similar material in his books.

Quite what the offence is here is hard to tell. In one post, it’s the use of the world “slag” in Walliams’ Billionaire Boy.

The food writer fumes: “Calling anyone a slag, ever, is crappy, but teaching that word to very young children in material designed for and aggressively marketed to them is unkind, misogynistic, revolting and irresponsible. (A reminder that this is not a personal crusade against DW, it’s a book review.)” Book review? Who set that task?

While Monroe has self-appointed as team leader on this latest escapade, the MSM have been happy to steam in with headlines like “Author David Walliams’ children’s books accused of ‘horrific racism’ and ‘sneering fatshaming nonsense’” and “David Walliams under fire for children’s books dubbed ‘Little Britain for kids,’” using social media posts as the basis for this confected outrage.
What is clearly missed is that Twitter is all about outrage. Without upset, there is no Twitter.

So to whip up a storm over such dross is lazy, liberal ‘journalism’. But wait, what’s that behind the bookshelves? 

It’s the gender monster, awakened from their sleep by someone bored with lockdown and cooking food on the cheap.
Because, while Walliams is coy on gender politics – “I hate it when people ‘confess’ or ‘reveal’ their sexuality,” he told the Radio Times back in 2013, not so of course for Monroe, who identified as “a lefty, liberal, lezzer cook” in one interview.

And maybe that’s at the core of this. Maybe Walliams has been a bit too coy about his own leanings and the gender warriors feel that makes him a traitor. A denier. A heretic!

So his attackers apply their entitled, liberal university education to the business of intellectually demolishing his books written for eight-year-olds. Never mind that Walliams has sold 25 million copies of his work, and sits in the ranks of authors to have made more than £100mn in sales. He must be taken down!

It is tiring being a snowflake. Ever on patrol for offence, constantly needing to change identity through gender, race, and class, and all the while furious that there are people out there who do not see things exactly the way you do.
Please, dear little snowflakes, just stop. You’re exhausting the rest of us.

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The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.