David Walliams’ Short Story Pulled From Book Due To ‘Casual Racism’

David Walliams’ short story about a Chinese boy has been pulled from his book ‘The World’s Worst Children’ due to ‘casual racism’ allegations, according to reports. 

HarperCollins confirmed that ‘Brian Wong Who Was Never, Ever Wrong,’ which was originally published in 2016, will not appear in the latest edition which is scheduled to be released next year.

The decision follows criticism from Georgia Ma, who hosts a podcast called Chinese Chippy Girl, as she argued it’s encouraging ‘harmful stereotypes’.

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In a chat with The Bookseller, she said: “‘Wong’ and ‘wrong’ are two words that are commonly used in playgrounds to pick on someone if their surname is Wong.

“Even just the way Brian has been illustrated. He wears glasses, he looks like a nerd, he’s got small eyes… they’re all harmful stereotypes.

“The overall character plays on the model minority myth where Chinese people are nerdy, swotty, and good at maths, we’re not confrontational and we’re high achievers.

“It was just really disappointing to read about that. Personally for me, because I have a toddler, I don’t want her being absorbed in these stories where Chinese culture is misrepresented.”

On Instagram, she continued: “Brian has been illustrated because you can see it’s just got the stereotypical small eyes, and the glasses, and it’s just complete casual racism.

“It just reminds me of the comics that white supremacists have, telling Chinese people to go back to China.”

Following the podcast host’s comments, HarperCollins released a statement announcing its removal.

It reads: “In consultation with our author and illustrator we can confirm that a new story will be written to replace ‘Brian Wong’ in future editions of ‘The World’s Worst Children’.

“The update will be scheduled at the next reprint as part of an ongoing commitment to regularly reviewing content.”

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