Marlon Bundo, Pence Family Pet and Celebrated Gay Icon, Dies

Marlon Bundo, beloved pet rabbit of the Pence family and celebrated BOTUS (Bunny of the United States), has died. He was between 8 and 10 years old. Bundo’s death was announced by former second daughter Charlotte Pence Bond, who took to social media on Saturday to mourn the family’s loss. “Marlon, you came into our lives at just the moment we needed you most,” she wrote. “I never could have predicted that a little bunny I found on Craigslist for a college student film would give me the courage to write my first book and be the inspiration for two more.” Bundo was the hero of three children’s books, penned by Pence Bond and illustrated by her mother, Karen Pence. Infamously, the rabbit was also the star of a parody story from Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, in which he marries another boy bunny in a pointed jab at former Vice President Mike Pence’s anti-LGBTQ stance. Oliver revealed in March 2018 that his parody book had sold 180,000 copies. In response, Pence Bond commended the fact that the book’s proceeds were being donated to pro-LGBTQ charities. On Saturday, she remembered Bundo as a “ball of love.”