Actor Julianne Moore revealed that her childrenâs book about freckles has been added to the list of banned books by the Trump administration.
Mooreâs first book, Freckleface Strawberry, has been prohibited in schools run by the Department of Defense as part of the new administrationâs efforts to combat diversity, equity, and inclusion.
The Academy Award-winning actor described the book as a âsemi-autobiographical story about a seven-year-old girl who dislikes her freckles but eventually learns to live with them when she realizes that she is different âjust like everybody else.ââ
âI canât help but wonder what is so controversial about this picture book that cause it to be banned by the US Government,â Moore wrote on Instagram.
DOD schools serve the children of service members as well as civilian employees of the Department. According to the DODâs website, almost 70,000 children attend one of its 161 schools.
Among other materials the DOD has banned is a book chapter about gender and sexuality in a high school course and the nonfiction book âBecoming Nicoleâ about a transgender child. The Department also canceled a fifth-grade lesson on immigration.
Earlier this month, Rep. Jamie Raskin tweeted that a constituent had asked a DOD school official why they had removed photos of Susan B. Anthony and Dr. Martin Luther King from the schoolâs walls but kept a portrait of Leonardo da Vinci.
The constituent said that the official told them it was because âhe was a real historical figure.â
âIt is galling for me to realize that kids like me growing up with a parent in the service and attending a [DOD] school will not have access to a book written by someone whose life experience is so similar to their own,â Moore continued.
Celebrities took to the comment section to express outrage.
âOh my friend this is frightening,â Halle Berry wrote. âIâm so sorry this is happening.â
âWow, truly shocked about this,â Chloe Grace Moretz wrote. âLiterally why??â
Moore finished off the post, writing: âI am truly saddened and never thought I would see this in a country where freedom of speech and expression is a constitutional right.â