RuPaul's 'inclusive' online bookstore yanks titles by Trump, Libs of TikTok, others after leftists complain: 'Hateful material'

An online bookstore originally dedicated to fighting censorship and providing "a store for all stories" has now yanked the titles of several books authored by high-profile conservatives.

Allstora is a new online bookstore that morphed out of the 2022 LGBTQ+ bookstore ShopQueer.co. Co-founded by LGBTQ+ activist Eric Cervini; his partner, Adam Powell, a noted drag performer; and celebrity cross-dresser RuPaul, Allstora was created to be an "independent bookstore committed to sharing all stories and sharing profits fairly."

Not only did Cervini, Powell, and RuPaul initially insist on giving authors a higher share of the profits from their books, but they also took a hard stance against censorship. "At Allstora, we believe that the censorship of any book, perspective, or story is incompatible with the survival of democracy," its website said as recently as March 6. "We cannot fight the ideologies of hate if we lack the ability to study, understand, and react to them."

That "decision to carry all books" angered many leftists, especially those who identify somewhere along the LGBTQ+ spectrum. LGBTQ Nation railed that Allstora dared to carry books written by "anti-LGBTQ+ extremists," such as the Daily Wire's Matt Walsh; Chaya Raichik, better known on social media as Libs of TikTok, whom LGBTQ Nation called a "hate monger"; and Abigail Shrier, described as "transphobic." Others objected to Allstora selling books by former President Donald Trump and billionaire X owner Elon Musk, the Daily Wire reported.

Allstora tried to quell their concerns by flagging certain titles that "are contrary to our core values." The store even promised to donate all proceeds from sales of those titles "to fight book bans."

But the leftist onslaught continued unabated, and Allstora folded to pressure within days. On March 9, Cervini released a full-page statement that chronicled his rapid transition from anti-censorship advocate to mob apologist.

"We envisioned a bookstore that split its profits with all authors: not just queer and trans storytellers, but also Black, Brown, disabled, neurodiverse, everyone," Cervini wrote. "A place where all the infinite intersections of humanity could find their books, their people."

"As a historian, I understood that even the most hateful of books can have educational value," he continued. "I knew that to dismantle prejudice, we must examine its illogic. We must study history so as not to repeat it, and we must understand hatred if we are to destroy it."

But in his attempt to understand his enemies, Cervini said he soon realized that he had unwittingly created an "unsafe" platform where "queer or trans youth" might "accidentally stumbl[e] upon a harmful book."

"I confused my duties as an academic and a bookseller, and I brought pain instead of joy into the world. And for that, I am sorry," he said.

Cervini then noted that "the most harmful books" had been removed from Allstora's catalog and invited shoppers to "continue to report any instances of hateful material on our site."

"As we continue to grow, I’m committed to doing a better job of listening and learning from the communities that we hope to nurture. With hard work, I hope we can rebuild your trust," his statement concluded.

RuPaul did not respond to Blaze News' request for comment.

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