Skip to footer

Nicholas Sparks is accused of homophobia, racism

The former headmaster of a school founded by Sparks and his wife filed a lawsuit alleging that the author 'endorse[s] ... discriminatory views about African-Americans, "LGBT" individuals, and individuals of non-Christian faiths.'

|
Evan Agostini/AP
Nicholas Sparks is the author of such books as 'The Notebook' and 'The Best of Me.'
  • By Molly Driscoll Staff Writer

Author Nicholas Sparks is being accused of discrimination in a lawsuit filed by the former headmaster of the Epiphany School of Global Studies, which Sparks founded with his wife. 

According to the Guardian, the plaintiff, Saul Benjamin, says that the notion that Sparks represents views of tolerance the “greatest fiction” the author has yet created.

“In reality, the non-fiction version of Defendant Sparks feels free, away from public view, to profess and endorse vulgar and discriminatory views about African-Americans, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (‘LGBT’) individuals, and individuals of non-Christian faiths,” the complaint reads.

Benjamin says in the lawsuit that Sparks supported students who were bullying LGBT students and that he put Benjamin in a room and yelled at him until Benjamin signed a letter of resignation, according to the Guardian. 

The complaint reads, “Sparks insisted that Mr. Benjamin stop talking about Islam, Judaism, or any other non-Christian religion" during school events, according to the Associated Press, and the complaint has Sparks telling Benjamin, "That's not what our parents like to hear.”

The school is located in New Bern, N. C., and does not espouse a particular religious belief. According to the website, the school is “a community of open-hearted Faith…. Our school is rooted in Judeo-Christian tradition…. Students of all faiths are welcomed and encouraged to attend.”

In addition, the lawsuit claims that after Benjamin went to an NAACP meeting to talk with black parents whose children might want to attend the school, Sparks “indicated that Mr. Benjamin should utilize less public and visible means if he sought to meet with African-Americans,” according to the AP.

Entertainment attorney Scott Schwimer said in a statement, “As a gay, Jewish man who has represented Nick for almost 20 years I find these allegations completely ludicrous and offensive,” according to the AP.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.
editor@csmonitor.com
Subscribe
Mark Sappenfield
Editor

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

Subscribe to insightful journalism

QR Code to Nicholas Sparks is accused of homophobia, racism
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/Books/chapter-and-verse/2014/1003/Nicholas-Sparks-is-accused-of-homophobia-racism
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe