Wal-Mart Cans Carlin Book
George Carlin's seven dirty words got him trouble three decades ago. Now his Pork Chops aren't going over well at Wal-Mart.
The nation's number one retail chain has refused to stock the funnyman's latest best-selling book, When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops? And depending on who you're listening to, it's either a case of censorship or salesmanship.
Carlin's rep, Jeff Abraham, says that Wal-Mart officials were not thrilled with book's cover, a parody of Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper featuring Carlin next to Jesus' empty chair.
"Wal-Mart has this very conservative attitude," Abraham says. "And George Carlin always said this about his book title, 'It's a title that's guaranteed to offend everyone.' So then you see this book cover and it's a parody of the Last Supper. So you can imagine what [Wal-Mart is] thinking."
But Wal-Mart spokeswoman Karen Burk says the Carlin camp is mistaken and the cover didn't factor into the company's decision not to sell Pork Chops in its stores.
"[The decision] was based on customer demand," says Burk. "We offer products we think our customers want to buy. We've carried Carlin's books in the past, but we simply felt that this particular title would not appeal to the majority of our customers. "
Burk also denies that Wal-Mart intentionally pulled Pork Chops off its racks, prompting the censorship talk.
"We did not order the George Carlin book, but it was shipped to a small number of our stores in error by one of our distributors. When we discovered the error, the book was removed from our shelves," Burk says.
Burk adds that Pork Chops is available for purchase online at Walmart.com, with "steady" sales so far.
A rep for Pork Chops publisher Hyperion Books could not be reached for comment.
Pork Chops features Carlin's usual dose of cultural commentary and mocks the modern-day euphemisms often used by politicians and the media. It currently ranks number five on the New York Times bestseller list and is poised to reach number two by next week.
His bestseller isn't the only one MIA from the big box's shelves.
Wal-Mart earlier canceled orders for The Daily Show host Jon Stewart's America, a spoof of a U.S. history textbook, because one page features the heads of the Supreme Court Justices grafted onto naked bodies.
Burk says the company decided to ban America because the image wasn't in line with Wal-Mart's family-friendly policies.
Jamie Raab, a spokeswoman for America publisher Warner Books, says the company is "certainly disappointed" at Wal-Mart's move, but respects the retailer's right to make that decision.
"I would have loved to have seen it there because it has sold so well," says Raab. "It really boiled down to the naked Supreme Court Justices that are in the book. They're pretty funny and pointed...but Wal-Mart has standards regarding nudity in the books they sell and didn't feel it was right for their customers."
Raab says she would have hoped Wal-Mart allowed its customers to make up their own minds.
Like Pork Chops, America is also available on Wal-Mart's Website.
One top-selling book that isn't on Wal-Mart shelves or on its Website is Jenna Jameson's autobiography, How to Make Love Like a Porn Star. The X-rated queen's memoir is apparently too racy for Wal-Mart shoppers.
Then again, the big box doesn't necessarily nix all racy books from its stores. Wal-Mart agreed to stock Pamela Anderson's steamy semi-autobiographical novel, Star, but only after the publisher substituted a salacious cover featuring a semi-nude Anderson with a much tamer version simply featuring a white star over a pink background.
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