Pete Evans was axed from I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! and dropped by 15 sponsors after posting a neo-Nazi meme on Facebook over the weekend.
But it appears the disgraced chef’s fascination with Nazism and the Holocaust is nothing new, as just last month he encouraged his fans to study the ‘true history’ of Germany.
Resurfaced Facebook comments show Pete, 47, responding to a fan who claimed that ‘Nazi Germany is infiltrating Australia using stealth and brainwashing’, and that Australians should ‘wake up and look at history’.
From bad to worse: Pete Evans, 47, urged his supporters to study ‘the true history of Germany’ in a Facebook comment just one month before he shared a neo-Nazi meme over the weekend
Pete responded: ‘You may wish to have another look about the true history about Germany.’
Pete also ‘liked’ another fan’s comment, which stated: ‘Everything we were taught about the Germans is 100 per cent the opposite of the reality that took place.’
It comes after a leading anti-hate campaigner publicly condemned Pete’s actions, accusing the conspiracy theorist of disrespecting Holocaust survivors and promoting antisemitism with his neo-Nazi meme.
‘You may wish to have another look about the true history about Germany’: Last month, Pete responded to a fan who claimed that ‘Nazi Germany is infiltrating Australia using stealth and brainwashing’, and that Australians should ‘wake up and look at history’
Thumbs up: Pete also ‘liked’ another fan’s comment, which stated: ‘Everything we were taught about the Germans is 100 per cent the opposite of the reality that took place’
Dr Dvir Abramovich, Chairman of the Anti-Defamation Commission, said: ‘This deeply offensive post is spit on the memory of the brave diggers who sacrificed their lives to defeat the evil of Hitler and the Third Reich and a kick in the stomach of Holocaust survivors.’
‘It is time for Mr Evans to begin to act responsibly and to understand that words matter,’ he added.
Dr Abramovich said the scandal represents a ‘new low’ for Pete, who in June interviewed notorious Holocaust denier David Icke on his podcast.
‘Deeply offensive’: Dr Dvir Abramovich, the chairman of the Anti-Defamation Commission, has accused Pete of disrespecting Holocaust survivors and promoting antisemitism following the neo-Nazi meme scandal
‘Just a few months ago Mr Evans interviewed David Icke, a notorious conspiracy theorist with a long-standing record of peddling antisemitic and Holocaust denial rants,’ Dr Abramovich said.
‘And now he is disturbingly mainstreaming an unadulterated hate symbol weaponised by neo-Nazis in order to promote their racist ideologies. What’s next, a cookbook of Hitler’s favourite foods?’
Dr Abramovic encouraged Pete to do some ‘serious soul-searching’ and to ‘understand that words matter’.
‘What’s next, a cookbook of Hitler’s favourite foods?’ Dr Abramovich said the scandal represents a ‘new low’ for Pete, who in June interviewed notorious Holocaust denier David Icke (pictured) on his podcast
Pete has faced significant backlash for sharing the neo-Nazi meme on Facebook on Sunday.
The post was a cartoon of a caterpillar wearing a MAGA cap and a butterfly with the racist Black Sun emblem on its wing – with the suggestion being that neo-Nazism is the natural evolution for Donald Trump supporters.
Pete is an enthusiastic supporter of the president and advocates the baseless claim that Joe Biden only won the 2020 election due to voter fraud.
Shameful: Pete had sparked outrage on Sunday when he shared a neo-Nazi meme on Facebook. He posted this cartoon of a caterpillar wearing a MAGA cap and a butterfly with the racist Black Sun emblem on its wing – with the suggestion being that neo-Nazism is the natural evolution for Donald Trump supporters
The Black Sun symbol became infamous after it was introduced by top-ranking Nazi Heinrich Himmler during World War II.
The symbol has since been adopted by numerous neo-Nazi groups, and by Christchurch mosque shooter Brenton Tarrant.
Pete seemingly confirmed he was aware of the meaning of the symbol when a fan stated they recognised it, and Pete replied: ‘I was waiting for someone to see that.’
What was he thinking? Evans seemingly confirmed he was aware of the meaning of the symbol when a fan stated they recognised it, and Pete replied: ‘I was waiting for someone to see that’
He later deleted the post on Monday afternoon and replaced it with an image of a rainbow heart alongside a sarcastic non-apology in which he claimed he would be ‘studying all of the symbols that have ever existed’ to make sure he doesn’t offend anyone again.
‘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 wrote.
‘I look forward to studying all of the symbols that have ever existed and research them thoroughly before posting. Hopefully this symbol [the love heart] resonates deeply into the hearts of ALL!’
Sorry, not sorry: He later deleted the post on Monday afternoon and replaced it with this image of a rainbow heart alongside a sarcastic non-apology in which he claimed he’d be ‘studying all of the symbols that have ever existed’ to make sure he doesn’t offend anyone again
The former My Kitchen Rules judge also laughed off his latest scandal outside his farm in northern NSW on Tuesday morning, offering a half-hearted apology to those offended by his racist social media post.
‘I apologise to anyone who might have taken it out of context,’ he said. ‘I promise you, whatever anybody is saying, that is not who I am.’
‘And once again, deepest apologies to anyone who might have taken offence to that comment, or the image that I shared, because it was never meant to be taken in that way,’ he added.
That afternoon, he shared a video to Instagram in which he called the allegations against him ‘garbage’ while cuddling up to one of his horses.
‘Well just when you thought 2020 couldn’t get any more bizarre. The mainstream media have come out and labelled me a racist and a neo-Nazi. The fact that I had to actually google what neo-Nazi meant is pretty telling,’ he said, while laughing.
Speaking out: On Tuesday afternoon, he shared a video to Instagram in which he called the allegations against him ‘garbage’ while cuddling up to one of his horses
Meanwhile, 15 sponsors and companies have dropped Pete in response to the neo-Nazi meme scandal.
The list includes his publisher Pan Macmillan, bookstore Dymocks, BIG W, Coles, kitchenware company Baccarat, Woolworths, House homewares, Target, Kmart, Booktopia, David Jones and Channel 10’s I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!
Also severing ties are Readings and Gleebooks bookstores, while Natural Raw C coconut water revealed it had ended its agreement with Pete earlier this year.