Problematic / Controversial Authors, Now with Sources!

Posted August 18, 2022 by geograph in thoughts / 1 Comment

Hello! I love sourcing things. Media literacy, pals!

As a friend said, “it’s important to have discussions and call out problematic behavior, esp when it’s so harmful but aligning little discrepancies with actual issues and providing literally no context whatsoever is just ??”

The original tweet thread reads that “All of this information is public knowledge and can be acquired through a simple google search.” These are the articles I found with a simple Google search. Notes made when I found websites unreliable.

This blog post references this tweet thread about “problematic/controversial authors”. The point I am trying to make is that if you are trying to prove something, you can’t tell people to ‘just google it’. 

 

Orson Scott Card
Orson Scott Card Outdoes Himself With Insane, Racist Rant
Orson Scott Card is Officially the Most Racist Sci-Fi Author
Orson Scott Card’s long history of homophobia
10 Homophobic Quotes by Orson Scott Card, Author of “Ender’s Game”
Orson Scott Card compares President Obama to Hitler
Orson Scott Card Wants Your ‘Tolerance’ for His Anti-Gay Views

Virginia Wooolf
When Virginia Woolf Dressed Up as an ‘African’ Prince to Fool the Royal Navy
Making Queer History: Virginia Woolf
Rereading Virgnia Woolf’s Ableist and Homophobic Rhetoric
The Time Virginia Woolf Wore Blackface

William S. Burroughs
William Burroughs was a Life Long Drug Addict Who Killed His Wife
This article is not fact-checked and the two sources Wikipedia gives are from El Nacional and La Prensa from September 8th, 1951, newspaper articles that were not digitized. This needs more than 20 seconds of research.

Dr. Seuss
Dr. Seuss was racist. Why are we still reading his books?
The reckoning with Dr. Seuss’ racist imagery has been year in the making

Flannery O’Connor
How Racist Was Flannery O’Connor?

Mercedes Lackey
Novelist Mercedes Lackey Accused fo Racism, Banned from Nebula Awards
Mercedes Lackey Removed from Nebula Conference
Mercedes Lackey is misguided concerning trans people (from a tumblr)

Margaret Sanger
The Difference One Racist Made: Margaret Sanger’s World (this is a pro-life website)
What Margaret Sanger Really Said About Eugenics and Race
Margaret Sanger’s Extreme Brand of Eugenics

James Dashner
Maze Runner author James Dashner dropped by US publisher amid harassment claims
Maze Runner author James Dashner responds to sexual harassment allegations – “Deseret News was founded in 1850 at the edge of the American frontier by pioneers committed to Liberty & Truth”. This news company is owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, which either means it is mostly propaganda or it is just in Utah.
‘Maze Runner’ author dropped by agent after harassment allegations

Dav Pilkey
Captain Underpants author withdraws book over ‘passive racism’
Scholastic ends distribution of book by “Captain Underpants” author for racist imagery against Asians
Captain Underpants Author self-cancels book for “Passive Racism”

Veronica Roth
Veronica Roth’s ‘Carve the Mark’ is a Fantasy Inspired by Chronic Pain
“Cyra’s is that she experiences constant pain, and she can also give that pain to other people. So the theory is that the current — which is this kind of energy that is present in the galaxy — that it flows through each person and their personality is like a mold that shapes how it comes out. And for her it would take a lot of psychoanalysis to figure out why she thinks that she’s worthy of pain and that others are worthy of pain. So she’s basically experiencing like a supernatural form of chronic pain.”
I don’t think Google is going to get you anywhere on this one, I think you should probably go to Goodreads and look at reviews here.

Jojo Moyes
Watch author Jojo Moyes respond to controversy over the portrayal of disability in Me Before You

Sylvia Plath
Sylvia Plath is My Problematic Face. So What Does This Say About Me? (personal essay)

Maria Lu
-is not an author
-I could not find anything on MARIE Lu, including the name of the short story so I could look it up, so this accusation is useless
-I think a valid criticism of Marie Lu is “once tried to start an NFT scheme”, which you can read about here: Inside the Realms of Ruin; this is why I Personally would consider Marie Lu problematic

James Patterson
-Unclear what ‘exploitation’ means in this context
James Patterson is Unapologetically Rich
James Patterson’s Super Sorry for Saying That Thing About Racism
Critics Blast James Patterson for Saying White Writers Are Struggling to Get Work
James Patterson claims alleged job struggles for ‘older white men’ is ‘another form of racism’
James Patterson apologizes for saying white writers face racism
Does James Patterson Use a Ghostwriter? (from Ghostwriters & Co)
James Patterson Novels Not Necessarily Written by Patterson
James Patterson Once Spotted a Woman Stealing One of His Books – this is what comes up when you search for ‘criminalized a transgender person in his book Invisible’. I think Google is useless for this, you need to look at Goodreads
Friend says “wait, if the James Patterson trans person thing is about invisible, i can actually speak on that because i read it: as far as I can recall (read the book at least 5 years ago) [editor’s note: at 14] there aren’t any trans characters in invisible?? i can’t recall a book of his that I’ve read that has a trans character.”

Philip Pullman
Philip Pullman makes clear he is ‘anti-transphobia’
Philip Pullman apologises after wading into racism row over Kate Clanchy’s memoir
Philip Pullman’s “His Dark Materials” trilogy and the preemptive censorship of writers of color
Code Red: Problematic Authors who Actively Hurt Communities This is a blog post that compiles a list of problematic authors with sources etc. it looks like it was last updated in 2018.
“supported an” is not useful

Lyman Frank Baum
L. Frank Baum Advocated Extermination of Native Americans
Was Frank Baum a racist or just the creator of Oz? “ICT: An Independent, nonprofit news enterprise”
Two of Frank Baum’s Descendants apologize for his racism From Idyllopuspress Presents, which seems to be a personal wordpress blog, link is dead

Roald Dahl
there are no results for “roald dahl” “supported child suicide”
Roald Dahl’s Anti-Black Racism
Beware: Roald Dahl’s ‘Willie Wonka’ Is a Sexist, Misogynistic, Heightist, and Racist Corporatist from The Daily Banter, “The Banter started in 2007 when Editor in Chief Ben Cohen got fed up with watching the corporate news not doing its job properly. After several years as a single person blog, the Banter relaunched in 2012 bringing on several prominent columnists like Bob Cesca, Chez Pazienza and White House reporter Tommy Christopher.” so I would say this is more like a personal blog than a news site
The dark side of Roald Dahl
Food and Fatphobia in Roald Dahl’s ‘Matilda’ and ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ from the blog QMUL Centre for Childhood Cultures Reading Group, “A Research Cluster of Faculty and Grad Students”
What to Know About Children’s Author Roald Dahl’s Controversial Legacy
Breaking Free from Misogynistc Views in Lamb to the Slaughter by Roald Dahl – This is on an essay plagiarism website and is an essay written by a student

Sara Faring
There are no results for “sara faring” “racism”
There are no results for “sara faring” “misrepresentation of BIPOC characters”
There are no results for “sara faring” “issues with colonization”
Looking at Vancouver’s lack of representation for BIPOC artists – This comes up because it’s an article about BIPOC representation by a writer named Sara

Enid Blyton
Enid Blyton: English Heritage acknowledge racism in her work
Enid Blyton had racist views. But I still read her (opinion piece)

Emily Duncan
a tweet from 2021 (no source)
Tweets from Emily A Duncan apologizing for being racist
‘IT WAS MEAN’ Author Emily Giffin apologizes over ‘racist’ comments branding Meghan Markle ‘unmaternal’ and ‘phony’ in Archie video this is just picking up on the keywords in the article, it’s not actually what you want, also it’s from The Sun
link to tweet thread about problematic authors without sources (or with gutted sources)
This Young Adult Author Has Been Exposed for Online Harassment of Authors of Color (by Distractify Staff)
Blog Tour: Wicked Saints by Emily A. Duncan – Review – this comes up because it’s a blog review of Emily Duncan’s book
Emily Duncan – Texas Nomination & Photography by Angie Read Photography Issue 54 of Inspiring Teens Magazine  This is completely irrelevant
What’s the deal with Emily Duncan? She’s a writer, she harassed someone, what’s going on here from r/OutOfTheLoop, all comments have been removed by moderators??
YA author Emily Duncan gets called out on her racism, antisemitism and bullying of other authors from LiveJournal
REVIEW: ‘Ruthless Gods’ by Emily A. Duncan is deliciously complicated from Bookstacked (this is a book blog)

Colleen Hoover
[nothing]

William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare, Trollius and Cressida – essay on a blog
A Democratic Cultural Canon is Not an HR Issue – from Medium, has nothing to do with this
William Shakespeare ditched by woke teachers over ‘misogyny, racism’ from the New York Post
Edward De Vere was Shake-speare: at long past, the proof this is literally a facebook fan page. Links to this article from the dispatch: Why We Need Shakespeare and Beethoven
Shakespeare & Racism from No Sweat Shakespeare
Was Shakespeare Racist? from The Shakespearean Student
William Shakespeare was a racist from The Patriot
Is the Taming of the Shrew a sexist play? Looks like student responses from a blog, this is a Weebly site
Shakespeare’s seixst “The Taming of the Shrew” is updated at The Bug
Was Shakespeare Antisemitic? from No Sweat Shakespeare
Shakespeare’s antisemitic lines aren’t his only hot potatoes
Was Shakespeare antisemitic? New book examines Shylock from The Jerusalem Post
If a Shakespeare play is racist or antisemitic, is it OK to change the ending?
Shakespear’s antisemitic lines must be censored at times, says Rylance
William Shakespeare as a Biased and Misogynistic Playwright from the Daily Sun
Misogyny in Othello by William Shakespeare – this is from an essay plagiarism site

Penelope Douglas
“stole a story from a news article about a girl who was abused” is so specific and unsearchable that it needs to be cited
there are no results for “penelope douglas” “writes relationships between minors and teens”
Goodreads quote
Review: Credence by Penelope Douglas – book blog review, abuse is only talked about in the comments
IMDB page for Penelope Douglas, unrelated
These accusations are not google-able, these need to be cited

Mariana Zapata
link to the popular tiktok search “mariana zapta racist”
links to a tweet that no longer exists (was cached)
You’re unable to view this Tweet because this account owner limits who can view their tweets (cached)
Links to deleted tweet (cached)
Do you have any do-not-buy authors? from  r/RomanceBooks, “Mariana Zapata – Read two of her books. They meander, she needs an editor to cut out the excess. Slow burn without a lot of heat. She’s not for me.”
Tweet referencing book “dear aaron”
Tweet about Mariana Zapata being disrespectful of Filipino culture
Reddit excerpt from “Dear Aaron” from r/RomanceBooks
Dear Aaron by Mariana Zapata from Book Thingo (blog)
No results for “Mariana Zapata” “blocked people”

Sarah J Maas
No results for “Sarah J Maas” “rarely includes POC”
Is Sarah J Maas a racist? from r/YALit
Is Sarah J Maas a racist? from r/books
tweet about how Sarah J Maas is racist and a zionist
deleted tweet (cached)
Book CommuniTEA: Problematic Creators Want Attention, Sarah J Mass A Zionist? [CC] YouTube video
Tweet about how Sarah J Maas is a zionist
Curiouscat answer that says “No she just went on a trip to Israel and enjoyed it and people used that to call her a Zionist. she isn’t”
There’s a Weird, Sexist Problem in Fantasy that We Need to Talk About from Book Riot
Literally just an amazon link to A Court of Thorns and Roses
Do you have any do-not-buy authors? from r/RomanceBooks
Tweet
Post about ableism on WordPress from an author named Sarah Viehmann
Post from // your authors are problematic tumblr blog, no sources
No results for the rest of these, this needs to be cited

Elle Kennedy
Links to tweet
Links to deleted tweet (cached)
Links to tweet
Links to tweet
Links to tweet about how she admits and is proud of it
Links to tweet, includes excerpts
Links to search of tiktoks

L.J. Shen
No results for “L.J. Shen” “bullying”
Links to tweet (no sources)
Links to tweet

William Golding
Links to tweet
Links to tweet, cites his memoirs
Broken link

Willow Winters
Links to tiktok search
Otherwise unsearchable, clearly refers to a specific incident that should be cited

Marion Bradley Zimmer
There are no results for “Marion Bradley Zimmer” “pedophelia”
Lots of results for “Marion Zimmer Bradley” who IS an author
Marion Zimmer Bradley’s Child Abuse: Cover-up or Exploitation? from Attack of the Six-Foot Tranny (blog)
From Marion Zimmer Bradley’s website
SFF community reeling after Marion Zimmer Bradley’s daughter accuses her of abuse
Marion Zimmer Bradley’s Son Describes abuse by Feminist Pagan Fiction Author from The Other Mccain, blog

George R. R. Martin
There are no results for “george r.r. martin” “200 acts of sexual violence”
There are no results for “george r.r. martin” “praises problematic authors and ideals” This references something specific and should be cited
Game of Thrones Creator George R.R. Martin Accused of Racism and Transphobia after Hosting the Hugo Awards Ceremony
Throne Off Course Game of Thrones’ George RR Martin Accusedof racism and sexism after ‘embarrassing and tone deaf’ awards speech from The Sun
George R.R. Martin Got Into Some Racist Trouble at the Hugo Awards from Cracked
George R.R Martin Accused of Racism and Just Generally Sucking After Hosting Hugo Awards
George R.R> Martin criticized for racism, transphobia while hosting Hugo Awards
George R.R. Martin’s Controversy at the Hugo Awards Highlights a Power Struggle in Sci-Fi/Fantasy
George RR Martin Says Game of Thrones is no more ‘anti-woman’ than real-life
George R.R. Martin’s Logic for Depicting Violence Against Women Actually Makes Sense from marie Claire
George R.R. Martin Responds to Criticism over Controversial Hugo Remarks

John Green
There are no results for “john green” “harmful depictions of manic episodes”
There are no results for “john green” “glorifies unhealthy/toxic relationships”
There are no results for “john green” “dismisses the suffering of jewish people”
There are no results for “john green” “promotes fat-shaming”
Links to deleted tweet
Everything, Everything is Ableist, Ableist is about something else, references The Fault in Our Stars as a good not-ableist example that doesn’t prioritize a cure for cancer
Links to private tweet
Links to tweet
Links to tweet possibly referencing this tweet

Danielle Lori
No results for “danielle lori” “criticized blm”
This clearly references a specific tweet and should be linked to
There are no results for “danielle lori” “don’t see color as i have a Black family”
This page instantly crashed and is now showing me ads for Jennette McCurdy’s ethnicity
Is Danielle Lori Problematic and White Supremacy and Racist Trump Tweet Explained from GetIndiaNews, this is just SEO nonsense
Same as above
Same as above but a Facebook page
Tweet including tiktok
Tweet about Shaniqua

Ernest Cline
There are no results for “ernest cline” “racist comments”
 a discussion post on /lit/ about Ernest Clines
All time best LitRPG (doesn’t seem to be related)
New Spielberg film faces massive backlash for ‘pandering’ to male nerds
Why ‘Ready Player One’ and Its Erasure of Black Culture is Harmful

Melissa de la Cruz
There are no results for “melissa de la cruz” “stereotypes”
There are no results for “melissa de la cruz” “homophobic slurs”
There are no results for “melissa de la cruz” “fetishization of gay people”

Donna Tartt
Is Donna Tartt racist? from r/books
Dark Academia Should Exist Beyond Donna Tartt’s ‘The Secret History’ and Racist Tropes
Private tweet
Donna Tartt’s lawyer sends off warning letters over Bennington College podcast
The Style Evolution of Donna Tartt

Anne Rice
There are no results for “anne rice” “spoke in defense of a racist”
Anne Rice hits out at ‘internet lynch mods’ attacking controversial books
How Not to Respond to Negative Reviews: The Anne Rice Edition from The Digital Reader (blog)
Remembering Anne Rice: An Interview With Her Son

Stephenie Meyere
“stephenie meyer” “romanticizes underage relationships” links to her website
‘Twilight’ author Stephenie Meyer Branded as ‘Racist’ by Twitter in Wake of New Book Reveal
Stephenie Meyere racist/misogynistic? on r/twilight
Broken link
There are no results for “stephenie meyer” “profiting off quileute tribe”
There are no results for “stephenie meyer” “misrepresents indigenous cultures”
Here’s an example of something that’s very easy to prove if you’re listening at all, but it’s hard to find out more information about if you’re just using Google

James Dashner again
Links to this poshmark listing for “James Dashner” “grooming”

J.M. Barrie
There are no results for “j.m barrie” “his characters tiger lily, wendy, and tinker bell are bad characterizations”
There are no results for “j.m. barrie” “harmful depictions of native americans”
Storygraph reviews tagged racism
Racism and repressed sexuality. Not even as fun as THAT sounds from Cannonball Read (blog)
10 disney Classics that have been called out for racism
Storygraph reviews tagged ‘sexism”
Sexism in Literature Transconceived
Links to ao3 bookmarks by gndmlvr01
Summertime Blues – blog

Frances Hodgson Burnett
There are no results for “Frances Hodgson Burnett” “characterizes black people as servants”
There are no results for “frances hodgson burnett” “describes people from india as having yellow skin”
gndmlvr01’s ao3 bookmarks again???
Why wouldn’t you just cite ‘racism’ for this? That at least gets you this blog tag

Delia Owens
‘Where the Crawdads Sing’ author Delia Owens wanted for questioning in murder
‘Crawdads’ author Delia ownes is wanted for questioning in a murder. Here’s why
Why “Where the Crawdads Sing” Author Delia Owens is Wanted for Questioning in Africa Murder Case
Questions About an Unsolved Murder Linger Over ‘Where the Crawdads Sing’
Unraveling the Controversies Behind ‘Where the Crawdads Sing’ and Author Delia Owens
Why ‘Where the Crawdads’ author Delia Owens is Wanted for Questioning About a Murder in Africa
Okay this one is just plain false heresay that OP did not check up on, it  looks like she is not convicted of murder in Africa but wanted for questioning and hasn’t been convicted of it yet, only accused

Jim Butcher
Goodreads Help question: Is Dresden and/or Mr. Butcher homophobic?
Tweet that quotes the tweet this blog post is about

Neil Gaiman
Sandman: Neil Gaiman Rejects Argument that ‘A Game Of You’ Was Anti-Trans
‘Gender critical’ trolls told author Neil Gaiman his books were transphobic. It backfired, badly
Author Neil Gaiman expertly shuts down transphobic trolls
Reply to this tweet
Neil Gaiman Deftly turns Twitter Troll’s Racist ‘Good Omens’ Rant Against Them
Neil Gaiman Slays Sexist, Racist Trolls to defend the honor of ‘The Sandman’ Cast

There’s a second part of this tweet thread but I’ve remembered I have a life. Cite your sources, please!

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