Oprah Winfrey’s latest selection for her Book Club has been generating controversy, and she’ll be interviewing American Dirt author Jeanine Cummins in a two-part episode on Apple TV+.
American Dirt, which tells the story of an Acapulco bookseller who inadvertently gets involved with the head of a drug cartel and makes a harrowing journey to the U.S. border, has been hit by backlash over concerns that its characterizations of Mexican immigrants are stereotypical and inauthentic.
“If you read the book there is no doubt you heard about the controversy around it,” said Oprah Winfrey in a statement.
RELATED: Salma Hayek Apologizes For Promoting Controversial Book Without Reading It First
“I heard and understand the concerns and wanted to bring together many voices to lean into this conversation because for 25 years on ‘The Oprah Show’ I learned that is the only way I think we can actually gain a better understanding of one another,” she continued.
In addition, Winfrey and Cummins will be joined by authors Reyna Grande, Julissa Arce, and Esther Cepeda for a raw, revealing conversation about the novel.
The two-part interview will begin streaming Friday, March 6, right here.
Interestingly enough, the backlash over American Dirt reportedly led “Oprah’s Book Club” to axe another controversial selection, My Dark Vanessa. Although the novel had been announced as its pick for March 2020, reports Vulture, it was abruptly dropped in the wake of the American Dirty fracas.
The reason no doubt had to do with My Dark Vanessa‘s subject matter, involving a relationship between a 15-year-old girl and her high school English teacher.
However, some in the publishing industry believe the move was an overreaction. “’m truly surprised that Oprah pulled her pick of My Dark Vanessa,” said an industry insider familiar with the situation. “The controversy about American Dirt, which is legitimate, is a completely separate situation than the My Dark Vanessa controversy, which was a few days of Twitter drama that was quickly resolved.”
