Retailer drops chef’s books over posts

AUCKLAND: The Warehouse has dropped Australian chef Pete Evans’ cookbooks after he shared neoNazi symbols on his social media accounts.

The retailer replied to multiple people on social media who questioned whether it would drop the chef’s books from its stores.

It replied saying it was ‘‘currently in the process of withdrawing stock in our stores and online’’.

Evans posted a cartoon to his Facebook and Instagram accounts over the weekend, featuring a caterpillar with a ‘‘MAGA’’ hat and a butterfly with the Black Sun symbol, also known as the sonnenrad or sunwheel.

The Christchurch terrorist used that same symbol on his backpack and in his manifesto.

The Warehouse is the latest outlet to drop the Australian chef’s books over the memes.

It follows in the footsteps of publisher Pan Macmillan Australia, which announced on Monday it would end its contractual relationship with the chef.

The Guardian reported that Evans had been fired from Channel Ten reality show I’m a Celebrity a Get Me Out Of Here!.

In a statement, major Australian supermarket chain Woolworths Group said it had removed the chef’s titles from its Big W range from this week.

Coles said on Twitter it was working to remove the chef’s products from its range.

Evans has made other headlines recently for his posts about conspiracy theories, in which he claims, among many other things, that Covid19 — the pandemic that has killed hundreds of thousands of people across the globe — is a hoax. — The New Zealand Herald