Actor Kristen Bell criticised for penning children’s book about racism that ‘promotes colourblindness’

Actor Kristen Bell has been criticised for writing a children’s book that glorifies “colourblindness”.

The book titled, The World Needs More Purple People was released last week and is about a “purple person” who “looks for similarities before difference”.

In an interview with the Associated Press, Bell explained the idea behind the book.

“The world loves debate, I do, and debate talks about differences. It’s layering difference upon difference upon difference, ‘I think this’, ‘no, you should think this’, it’s just constantly pointing out divisive narratives.”

“Our kids are absorbing all of that and maybe we needed a bit of a road map to show them that it’s actually great to start with similarities first.”

“Hopefully that will allow kids to have a little bit more of a social identity and be able to see similarities and through that have their mind opened by some people who they thought were different.”

While the book was intended to encourage an open conversations about race, many have expressed their concern that Bell chose to create a new race of purple people rather than focus on the real people and experiences.

One person commented that Bell was using her privilege as a white person to further her own agenda.

“Kristen Bell making a video about taking responsibility for racism whilst simultaneously not taking responsibility for playing the part of a biracial woman is peak white privilege and peak 2020.”

“Someone tell Kristen Bell the colorblind thing was helpful in like 1971.The big plan to get white folks to stop cracking niggas over the head by saying ‘wait! They’re not black. They’re PEOPLE,” one person tweeted.