John Oliver's gay rabbit book parody outsells Pence original on Amazon

'It doesn’t have to be divisive. I think that everybody can come together over Marlon'

John Oliver's parody book about a gay bunny which trolls Mike Pence has radically outperformed the original version penned by the Vice President's daughter.

Oliver’s book has sold 180,000 copies on Amazon and became the bestselling book on the site within two days of its release.

Earlier this week, Charlotte Pence, Mr Pence's daughter, released a book about her family’s pet rabbit, Marlon Bundo.

John Oliver got word of the release beforehand and decided to spoof the book, releasing a children’s book about the same rabbit but instead portraying Bundo as gay.

The reason? Oliver wanted to highlight the Vice President’s many controversial views on homosexuality, telling his Last Week Tonight audience: “This is not an adult book telling Mike Pence to go f**k himself. Although that’s exactly what you would be doing by buying it.”

The Vice President’s oldest daughter has since resounded to Oliver’s release, offering support for the book. “I have bought his book,” the author of Marlon Bundo’s A Day in the Life of the Vice President told ITK.

“He’s giving proceeds of the book to charity, and we’re also giving proceeds of our book to charity, so I really think that we can all get behind it.”

The 24-year-old added: “It doesn’t have to be divisive. I think that everybody can come together over Marlon.”

Proceeds from Ms Pence’s book will go towards Tracy’s Kids, providing young cancer patients with art therapy. The money from Oliver’s children’s book - which has already topped the Amazon best-seller charts - are going towards AIDS United and the Trevor Project, an LGBT suicide prevention charity. “I also want to support those charities - I really mean that,” Ms Pence added.

The comedian strategically announced the release of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver Presents a Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo on his HBO show on Sunday. This was the day before Marlon Bundo’s A Day in the Life of the Vice President, penned by his daughter and illustrated by his wife Karen, was due to be released.

Oliver’s book features a simple story about two male rabbits falling in love but unable to get married because of the rule-making stinky bug (who has a likeness to Mr Pence). The audiobook features the voices of Jim Parsons, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Ellie Kemper, RuPaul, and John Lithgow.

Oliver’s version pokes fun and satirises the original book about the vice presidential family’s rabbit. It is a dig at Mr Pence’s stance on LGBT+ rights – the former governor of Indiana is steadfastly opposed to gay marriage and has a record of supporting the widely discredited practice of gay conversion therapy.

Alyssa Farah, press secretary for the Vice President, has previously denied the allegation Mr Pence supports conversion therapy, saying: "The accusation is totally false with no basis in fact".

“Resources should be directed toward those institutions which provide assistance to those seeking to change their sexual behaviour,” Mr Pence wrote on his congressional campaign website back in 2000.

Many argued the statement was evidence he supported gay conversion therapy, but a spokesperson for Mr Pence told the New York Times in November 2016 that the Indiana-born politician does not support the practice.

Mr Pence, a devout Christian, is also famed for his anti-abortion views. He has previously vowed to relegate Roe vs Wade - the landmark Supreme Court decision which legalised abortion nationwide in 1973 – to the “ash heap of history, where it belongs”.

You can watch the full Last Week Tonight segment here.