School principal freaks out after guest speaker says that an author was gay

A school principal in Forsyth County, Georgia was so panicked after a guest speaker said the word “gay” to a group of fifth graders that he sent an apology email to parents even though no one complained.

Award-winning author Marc Tyler Nobleman visited Sharon Elementary School to discuss his book, Bill the Boy Wonder: The Secret Co-Creator of Batman. The book tells the story of Bill Finger, who never received credit for the role he played in creating the iconic superhero. Forsyth County News reported that during his talk, Nobleman merely mentioned that Finger’s son, Fred, was gay, which led school officials to freak out.

Related:

Angry Mississippians get “Heartstopper” books banned from teen section at library

One resident claimed “homosexuals” were using the Heartstopper books “to recruit your kid, my kid, and grandkid to get into that lifestyle.”

“That wasn’t something that we were aware he was going to discuss, and that wasn’t approved for our students,” said Forsyth County Schools Chief Communications Officer Jennifer Caracciolo.

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Principal Brian Nelson then reportedly told Nobleman that he was not to bring up Finger’s sexuality in his talks with the third and fourth graders later that day. Nelson sent an email profusely apologizing to the parents of the fifth graders, writing he wanted to inform them of what took place in the name of “trust and transparency.”

“As Mr. Nobleman chronicled the tale, he included that Mr. Finger was ‘gay,'” Nelson wrote, for some reason using quotations around the word gay. “This is not subject matter that we were aware that he was including nor content that we have approved for our students. I apologize that this took place.”

According to Caracciolo, the school’s intense reaction to the situation “was not about the specific word or topic that was shared.”

“We would have done this with any sensitive topic that was not part of our standards,” she said.

Georgia passed a trio of censorship laws in 2022, including the Protect Students’ Rights Act, commonly known as the “divisive concepts” law; a “Parents’ Bill of Rights”; and another known as the “harmful to minors law,” which calls for the removal or restriction of instructional materials that any parent may deem “pornographic” or “harmful.”

Editor’s Note: This article originally stated that Bill Finger was gay, when in reality it was his son, Fred, who was gay. We regret the error.