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By AFP 
3h ago
Sydney – Celebrated Australian chef and conspiracy theorist Pete Evans was dumped by multiple companies and his books were pulled from shelves on Tuesday after he posted a Nazi symbol on social media.
Major Australian retailers said they would remove Evans’ books and products from stores following a public backlash against his Instagram post that featured a “Black Sun” symbol, an image associated with Nazi Germany and used by neo-Nazis.
Publisher Pan MacMillan was one of those who publicly distanced himself from Evans and told retailers they could return his books.
Cookware brand Baccarat said it would stop producing and selling a product line bearing its name.
“In our opinion, the images and opinions expressed by Mr. Evans are abhorrent, unacceptable and deeply offensive,” Baccarat Australia said in a statement.
Her next appearance on the Australian reality TV show “I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here” was also canceled.
The since-deleted post features an image of a caterpillar wearing a “Make America Great Again” cap talking to a butterfly that has the “Black Sun” symbol on its wing.
In a subsequent video to his 1.7 million followers on social media, Evans, stroking a horse while listening to meditative music in the background, said the accusations made against him were “false, not factual and a lot of crap.”
He also claimed that he had to “Google what neo-Nazi meant.”
Since the coronavirus pandemic began, Evans has regularly used his platform to promote conspiracy theories about the outbreak.
He is also known for promoting pseudoscientific diet ideas such as the Paleolithic diet, earning him the nickname “Paleo” Pete.
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