Steve Martin on Monday clapped back at a Florida county for pulling his novel “Shopgirl” from its school library shelves.
The book is among hundreds of titles being removed from Collier County Public Schools libraries, after the Florida Legislature passed a bill earlier this year permitting schools to restrict classroom materials about gender and sexuality.
Martin reacted with mock glee.
“So proud to have my book Shopgirl banned in Collier County, Florida!” he wrote on Instagram. “Now people who want to read it will have to buy a copy!”
His 2000 novella is about a department store sales clerk who falls for an older man. Martin also adapted it into a 2005 movie and starred as the older man, with Claire Danes playing the clerk.
“Shopgirl is a work of disarming tenderness,” reads an official book description.
Martin is in some prominent literary company. Collier County is also reportedly banning a number of books by Stephen King, in addition to works by Toni Morrison, Margaret Atwood, Alice Walker and Ernest Hemingway.
One high-profile historian has said the book restrictions under Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), also a 2024 presidential candidate, are reminiscent of communism.
