Pete Evans axed by Woolworths, Ten amid controversial cartoon; coronavirus conspiracies
A controversial cartoon posted by the celebrity chef leads his publisher and a range of backers to cut ties with him.
Controversial chef Pete Evans has been given the boot by Woolworths, Network Ten, Solomon Lew’s family retail chain House and cookware group Baccarat following his farcical theories on the coronavirus crisis.
He also posted a cartoon this week that included the Black Sun symbol from Nazi Germany recently, which has subsequently been deleted.
The symbol was used on the Christchurch terrorist’s manifesto before he carried out his massacre in 2019.
In a subsequent post, Evans apologised to people who “misinterpreted” the cartoon.
“Sincere apologies to anyone who misinterpreted a previous post of a caterpillar and a butterfly having a chat over a drink and perceived that I was promoting hatred,” he said. “I look forward to studying all of the symbols that have ever existed and research them thoroughly before posting.”
Um... pic.twitter.com/liNIjFMK8q
— Byron Kaye (@byronkaye) November 15, 2020
— Pan Macmillan Aus (@MacmillanAus) November 16, 2020
The retail giant says it will remove Evan‘s books from its discount chain Big W from Tuesday, in line with his publisher Pan Macmillan’s offer.
Woolworths‘s supermarket chain also conveyed its own concerns directly with fruit drink supplier Raw C, who subsequently advised its relationship with Evans, who was a co-host of Network Seven’s reality show My Kitchen Rules for several years until a few months ago, ended earlier this year.
“As always, we would encourage our customers to follow the expert medical advice from health authorities,” Woolworths said in a brief media statement on Tuesday morning.
A Ten spokeswoman confirmed that Evans won‘t be appearing on the new season of its reality show I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here!
The Australian understands that Ten notified Evans that he had been dropped from the cast line-up on Tuesday morning just as filming was set to get under way in Murwillumbah in NSW.
House, which is part of the Lew family’s business empire, said it will immediately remove the Evans cookware products online and discontinue the range in stores.
In a brief statement posted on social media, House said it had recently been made aware of social media posts and comments by Evans, “which are completely contrary to our values”.
“In our view, the images and views expressed by Mr Evans are reprehensible, unacceptable and offensive.”
Baccarat has also terminated its license agreement with Evans, effectively immediately, describing Evan’s actions as “abhorrent, unacceptable and deeply offensive.”
“Baccarat retail partners will immediately remove the product range online and will exit all stock in store,” the group said in a post on social media platform Instagram.
Evans is reported to have to have suggested that humans aren’t capable of spreading the coronavirus.
In April, The Therapeutic Goods Administration fined Evans $25,000 for promoting a “light machine” he claimed could be used to treat COVID-19.
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