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Wal-Mart bans Jon Stewart book from stores

NEW YORK - Retail giant Wal-Mart has banned America (The Book), a fake textbook written by Jon Stewart, the host of The Daily Show, from its stores.

The chain will not be selling the book because it contains a fake photo of the members of the U.S. Supreme Court in the nude.

"We were not aware of the image that was in the book [when Wal-Mart ordered it] and we felt the majority of our customers would not be comfortable with it," Wal-Mart spokeswoman Karen Burk told the Associated Press by way of explaining why the corporation had cancelled its order.

"We offer what we think our customers want to buy," Burk added. "That just makes good business sense."

The picture, on page 99 of the book, shows the heads of the Supreme Court justices grafted onto naked, sagging bodies.

The book supplies cut-outs of judicial robes so readers can "restore their dignity by matching each justice with his or her respective robe."

Warner Books spokeswoman Jamie Raab said the photo was in keeping with the tone of America (The Book), which is meant to be a spoof of a history textbook.

"It's funny, yet to the point. When you undress the Supreme Court justices, they're just men and women and you have to judge them on who they are and what they do. It makes you look and think and laugh," she said.

Raab said Wal-Mart is within its rights, but pointed out that the picture is not sexually explicit. A better strategy might have been to let customers make up their own minds, she said.

This isn't the first time Wal-Mart has banned a product. The chain does not stock lad's mags such as Maxim, and in 1996 it refused to sell a Sheryl Crow album because of one song with lyrics suggesting Wal-Mart sells guns to children.

Wal-Mart will, however, continue to sell America (The Book) through its website. Burk said people who buy products from Wal-Mart online are a "different audience."

The book was written by Stewart, along with the rest of the writing team from The Daily Show, which airs on Comedy Central in the U.S. and the Comedy Network here in Canada.

According to the Comedy Central website, America (The Book) explores "the reasons why concepts like 'One man, one vote,' 'Government by the people,' and 'Every vote counts' have become such popular urban myths."

Wal-Mart's move comes less than a week after Stewart made a controversial appearance on the CNN program Crossfire.

Stewart got into a verbal dust-up with co-host Tucker Carlson, calling him a "dick" who promotes "partisan hackery."

[original article]

Posted by thinkum at October 22, 2004 03:52 PM