Chalk this one up as a new success for John Oliver.
The comedian and host of HBO’s Last Week Tonight put together a children’s book to troll Vice President Mike Pence, documenting a day in the life of Pence’s family pet bunny Marlon Bundo. (Charlotte Pence, daughter of the vice president, also put out a book about the rabbit, but Oliver’s takes a decidedly different tone, making the main figure gay.)
And although it was just released this week, Oliver’s book is rapidly outpacing Pence’s in sales. In fact, it’s already temporarily out of stock. Vanity Fair reports it has sold over 180,000 copies, and has more on backorder, according to the New York Post.
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver Presents a Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo is actually written by Last Week Tonight staffer Jill Twiss with illustrations by EG Keller. It follows a day in the life of fluffy creature Bundo as he discovers a romantic partner — a boy bunny — and they ultimately tie the knot. That storyline is meant to oppose Pence’s stated policy positions to LGBT rights including marriage equality.
On Tuesday, the parody book was Amazon’s top seller, with a slew of five-star reviews. (Pence’s book is still in stock on Amazon, and has a 4.5 star rating.) For those still looking to purchase the picture book, Oliver has assured audiences that they’re re-printing and plan on having more in stock in the next few weeks — they just didn’t expect this level of interest in the joke story.
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