TikTok stars Matthew and Paul, a beloved interabled couple known for their heartwarming pranks and educational content on blindness, are speaking out about their LGBTQ children’s book being banned from certain stores. Paul, who fulfilled his dream of becoming a children’s book author with the help of TikTok fans and his supportive partner, created 'Pringle and Finn’ and its sequel to celebrate themes of love, diversity, and teamwork. While their journey has been filled with milestones, including connecting with their followers, the couple has faced setbacks, highlighting the ongoing fight against discrimination and censorship. In a recent interview with GLAAD for Banned Books Month, they emphasized the importance of advocacy and ensuring all children have access to diverse, inclusive literature.
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00:00TikTok sensations Matthew and Paul are speaking out about the challenges of having their LGBTQ
00:06children's book banned in certain stores, and the powerful message they're sharing
00:10in response.
00:12Matthew and Paul Castle are one of the most adored influencer couples online.
00:16They first went viral for their wholesome pranks.
00:19They're an inter-abled couple, as Paul is blind, but they absolutely make the most of
00:23it and love educating and having fun with their followers.
00:27Paul specifically has gained notoriety through educating his followers on what blindness
00:31can look like and what it's like living while blind.
00:34I'm blind and this is the Braille alphabet.
00:37Have you ever seen this before?
00:38No, not the whole thing.
00:39Me neither.
00:40But Maple wants to see it too!
00:42Matthew, did you know that Braille was invented 200 years ago by a 15-year-old boy?
00:47Who?
00:48Louis Braille!
00:49Oh, okay.
00:51But outside of being an adorable couple and an advocate for the visually impaired, Paul
00:55also published a book with the help of their fans on TikTok.
01:00Paul always had a dream of becoming a children's book author and illustrator, and with an immense
01:04amount of support from his loving partner Matthew, that dream was able to come to life.
01:10The book Pringle & Finn, which now has a sequel, The Secret Ingredient, features an LGBTQ penguin
01:16couple and tackles themes of love, diversity, and teamwork.
01:20The couple celebrated numerous huge milestones for the book with their followers on TikTok,
01:24but their journey, unfortunately, hasn't been just successes.
01:28Back in June of 2021, Paul shared this TikTok of himself reacting to a store rejecting his
01:34book.
01:35I'm writing with some unfortunate news.
01:37It seems the person who placed the order for your books wasn't entirely up to speed on
01:40our policies, and we have returned the boxes to you.
01:42Please see the tracking number below.
01:44While I think your book is very charming, it's just not something we can carry in our
01:47store at this time.
01:48It's called The Secret Ingredient, but it's about these two penguins, two male penguins
01:52who adopt a little baby, and in the book, they deliver cakes to different birthday parties
01:57to different types of families, you know, some with two moms, some with two dads, but
02:02I can only think of one reason they don't want to carry it.
02:05I honestly, when I saw the email, I thought that we're going to order more books.
02:09In a recent interview with GLAAD, in honor of Banned Books Month, the couple opened up
02:13about how they navigated their book being banned from certain stores, sharing,
02:17It's really sad.
02:18It's a reminder of how important it is for advocacy work to still be done.
02:23Sometimes it's easy to forget that there are these people out there that are actively
02:26trying to practice discrimination and silence diversity.
02:30It was a wake-up call, a reminder that there's so much work to be done.
02:34When it comes to what they want people to take away from the situation, Matthew continued,
02:38I hope that people understand that whether your child is part of a queer family or not,
02:43this is the kind of literature I think all children should be allowed to consume.
02:47It's very wholesome.
02:48Paul and Matthew's interview follows a major win for the Unbanned Books movement, as children's
02:54book colonization and the Wampanoag story was restored to the non-fiction section in
02:59Montgomery, Texas.
03:01This decision was made thanks to people speaking out, proving that using your voice and advocating
03:06for the unbanning of books does make a difference.
03:09Make sure to follow at MatthewandPaul on TikTok to keep up with the couple and Paul's
03:13newest book, Adoroscopes.