In light of her first children’s book being banned, Julianne Moore took to Instagram to express her shock and disapproval over the Trump administration’s education policies.
“It is a great shock for me to learn that my first book, ‘Freckleface Strawberry,’ has been banned by the Trump Administration from schools run by the Department of Defense,” Moore wrote on Sunday.
A semi-autobiographical story, “Freckleface Strawberry” tells the story of a 7-year-old girl who doesn’t like her freckles. But as the book goes on, she learns to accept them as well as the fact that she’s different “just like everybody else.” “It is a book I wrote for my children and for other kids to remind them that we all struggle, but are united by our humanity and our community,” Moore continued.
The actress noted that she was “particularly stunned” since she graduated from a Department of Defense Dependents school, the now-closed Frankfurt American High School, and that her father is a Vietnam veteran who served in the U.S. Army.
“I could not be prouder of him and his service to our country. It is galling for me to realize that kids like me, growing up with a parent in the service and attending a @dodea_edu school will not have access to a book written by someone whose life experience is so similar to their own,” Moore wrote. “And I can’t help but wonder what is so controversial about this picture book that cause it to be banned by the U.S. Government. I am truly saddened and never thought I would see this in a country where freedom of speech and expression is a constitutional right.”
Several celebrities, such as Uzo Aduba, Alexandra Billings, Michelle Pfeiffer, Bella Thorne and Stephanie Beatriz, expressed their outrage over the banning with many asking how they can purchase the book. Last Monday, the Department of Defense sent a memo to parents with children enrolled in Pentagon schools noting that it was examining books “potentially related to gender ideology or discriminatory equity ideology topics.” Books that were found to be in violation of Trump’s executive order, which targets transgender people as well as what’s been referred to as “radical indoctrination,” have been removed.
