Could this be the final straw for celebrity chef Pete Evans and his wacky views?
Retail giant Woolworths Group is pulling books by controversial celebrity chef Pete Evans from its shelves and other sponsors are distancing themselves from him after he posted a cartoon featuring a symbol associated with neo-Nazis and the Christchurch mosque attacks on social media.
Evansās publisher Pan Macmillan said it was āfinalising its contractual relationshipā with him while bookshop chain Dymocks said it would also stop selling his books.
The backlash came after Evans posted a cartoon which depicted a āblack sunā symbol, used by far right groups including white supremacists in the US and paramilitary units in Ukraine.
In the cartoon, a caterpillar wearing a MAGA hat, popularised by US President Donald Trump, says āyouāve changedā to a butterfly with the āblack sunā symbol on its wing.
The butterfly replies: āWeāre supposed to.ā
The black sun, or sonnenrad, was also used on the rucksack and manifesto of the shooter who murdered 51 people in the 2019 Christchurch mosque attacks.
Evans later deleted his post and apologised āto anyone who misinterpreted a previous postā.
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āI look forward to studying all of the symbols that have ever existed and research them thoroughly before posting,ā he said in a statement.
Today, Woolworths Group said it would be removing Evansās books such as Going Paleo from its Big W stores.
āBig W reviews its range of books regularly to ensure theyāre aligned with its values,ā Woolworths Group said in a statement.
āIt has decided to remove Pete Evansā book titles from the Big W range.ā
Pan Macmillan said any bookshops which wanted to return the titles should contact them.
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āThose views are not our views as a company, or the views of our staff,ā the company said.
āPan Macmillan is currently finalising its contractual relationship with Pete Evans and as such will not be entering any further publishing agreements moving forward.ā
Woolworths Group said its Woolworths supermarkets had no direct commercial relationships with Evans.
Cookware brand Baccarat and homeware brand House also moved to cut their ties with him.
āIn our view, the images and views expressed by Mr Evans are abhorrent, unacceptable and deeply offensive,ā both companies said.
Raw C, a health food company that Evans was formerly associated with, said it took steps to ādisassociate with him both personally and as a brandā over the past year due to a āpattern of behaviour by Mr Evansā.
āWe are both horrified and saddened by the religious and anti-Semitic undertones by [sic] this tweet,ā the company said on its website.
In April, Evans was fined $25,000 by the Therapeutic Goods Administration for claims he made about a product called a āBioChargerā and the āWuhan Coronavirusā.
-AAP
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