| Johnny the Walrus | |
| Author: | Matt Walsh |
| Illustrator: | K. Reece |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
| Genre: | Children's literature |
| Publisher: | DW Books |
| Release Date: | March 29, 2022 |
| Media Type: | Print (hardcover) |
| Pages: | 30 |
| Isbn: | 978-1-956007-05-3 |
Johnny the Walrus is a satirical 2022 children's picture book by American conservative political commentator Matt Walsh. The story allegorically compares being transgender and non-binary to pretending to be a walrus through the story of a child named Johnny. It was published by DW Books, a division of The Daily Wire.
In the book, Johnny is a boy with an imagination who dresses up as a walrus by using spoons as tusks. When "internet people" find out that Johnny enjoys being a walrus, he is forced to decide between being a boy or a walrus, and he is not allowed to change his mind.[1] The "internet people" also pressure Johnny's mother into feeding Johnny worms and taking him to a doctor with a saw, who suggests turning Johnny's hands and feet into fins.[2] Johnny's mother attempts to take him to a zoo to be with real walruses, but the real walruses do not like Johnny as he is not a walrus. The zoo also refuses to accept Johnny. Eventually, Johnny and his mother realize Johnny is a boy and that it's ok to play pretend while being yourself. They head home as Johnny pretends to be a bird.
Johnny the Walrus became the bestselling book in Amazon's LGBTQ+ category before Amazon recategorized it on December 10, 2021, to the Political and Social Commentary category. Walsh called the recategorization "an unconscionable attack on gay rights and a horrific example of homophobia and gay erasure."[3]
GLAAD, an LGBT media monitoring organization, had previously called for Amazon to remove the book from its LGBTQ+ category. On the same day, Target removed the book from its online bookstore.
Fox News host Tucker Carlson called the book "hilarious".[4] Conservative news website TheBlaze called it "an effort to push back against radical gender ideology which defies biological reality."[5] Satirist Andrew Doyle, writing in UnHerd, praised the book for mocking the "indoctrination of the young".[6] LGBT news website PinkNews called the book "hateful" and "transphobic". LGBTQ Nation called the book "anti-transgender" and said that the book mocks transgender youth.
In March 2022, a group called No Hate at Amazon circulated a petition demanding that Amazon stop selling books like Johnny the Walrus and Irreversible Damage and instead set up an oversight board that would allow employees to determine content sold on Amazon. At least 500 people signed the petition, which had been presented to Amazon leadership in the summer of 2021.[7] A spokesperson for The Daily Wire Books praised Amazon for "dismissing demands by its woke employees" and said that Johnny the Walrus had sold "nearly 100,000 copies" on Amazon as of June 2022.