Selma Blair is addressing the Dr. Seuss controversy. Last week it was announced that six books written by Theodor Seuss Geisel would stop being published because of racist and insensitive imagery. Blair got candid about the ordeal in an interview with Too Fab.
"I don't believe in book banning and I don't believe this is a case of book banning at all. It's still available. It's still there. I don't think things totally need to be wiped off," she said. "And I don't think it is cancel culture. I mean, everyone's going to look for flaws in everybody else, but I don't believe this is a political thing. It's just as we grow and evolve."
Blair said she had read the books in question to her 10-year-old son in the past and would do so again. The key is to explain the context and strike up meaningful conversations about the topic with him.
"My son can read whatever he wants," she said. "And just things can be prefixed with, 'it's a different time.'"
The "Cruel Intentions" star added that she thought the whole furor was creating unnecessary tension.
"I have a friend I love so much and she got so bereft the other day and said, 'You know, this is the Democrats. This is what they're doing,'" Blair recalled. "And I said, 'Wait but … how is this the president's fault?'"
Her friend then admitted, "'Well, he didn't announce it.'"
Looking back at the conversation, Blair said the whole saga was "just starting a war that's not there," adding that to her understanding, Geisel's family and publishers made the decision to pull the books because times have changed.
According to a statement to The Associated Press last week, Dr. Seuss Enterprises said it had long been planning to cease publication and sales of the six books. The final decision was made last year after much discussion.
"Dr. Seuss Enterprises listened and took feedback from our audiences including teachers, academics, and specialists in the field as part of our review process," the company said. "We then worked with a panel of experts, including educators, to review our catalog of titles."