Kim Davis’ Book Deal? It’s Not Happening

Rumors and tales of Kim Davis’ book deal, outlining her trials as she battles the courts in Kentucky, defying first the Supreme Court’s ruling on marriage equality, then direct orders to Davis herself to issue marriage licenses, have gone viral in the past several days. For many, the story is simply confirmation of the next step in an expected sequence of events. However, in this case, it isn’t true — at least, not yet.

An opinion piece in Esquire is just one of many responses to Kim Davis, in which a cynical series of predictions is voiced: there will be rallies, politicians will speak in support, she will be invited to speak at political events, there will be a GoFundMe, and Davis will end up with a book deal, reality show, or other public platform.

Some of this, indeed, has come to fruition: there were certainly rallies in support of Davis while she was in jail, as well as when she returned to work. Mike Huckabee has spoken freely about her case, and stood by her as she exited the Rowan County Jail. She’ll be accepting an award from the Family Research Council at an upcoming Values Voter Summit, where she’ll give what her attorneys refer to as the first of her public speaking events, indicating they expect more.

However, the GoFundMe never happened. Salon points out that, since canceling a fundraiser for a couple charged with breaking anti-discrimination laws, GoFundMe has been more strict about allowing campaigns for anyone facing formal charges.

As for the book deal — well, it’s certainly possible that could still materialize, or even that there are are discussions underway. However, the rumors that it has been officially announced are untrue. There seem to be two primary sources for this claim. One is a YouTube video in which a woman, claiming to be Kim Davis, asks about a book deal. Be warned — the language in the video is severely offensive. It can be found here if you’d still like to see it. The woman is clearly not Davis, however, and the video (in which the woman cusses, calls herself offensive names, and says lines like “…because I can’t do my [expletive] job…”) is clearly satirical.

Less obvious satire is the second primary source of the tales of Kim Davis’ book deal. The National Report declares that Davis’ book, printed by Forever Faith publishing, will be titled I’m A Survivor, and available in time for Christmas. The purported title is a clear jab at Davis and Huckabee, who used the song “Eye of the Tiger” as Davis took the stage at her rally. The band, Survivor, spoke out afterward to say they had not given permission and did not approve of the use of their song: “I wouldn’t grant her the rights to use Charmin!”

As for Forever Faith Publishing — well, it doesn’t exist, and National Report is a satire site.

It’s certainly possible Kim Davis’ book deal could be a real thing at some point in the near future, but if she has anything of the sort in the works currently, it’s still behind closed doors.

[Photo by Ty Wright / Getty Images]