Aussie celebrity chef axed after posting Nazi symbol

SYDNEY: Australian celebrity chef and conspiracy theorist Pete Evans was ditched by several companies and had his books pulled from shelves Tuesday after he posted a Nazi symbol to social media.

Major Australian retailers said they would remove Evans’ books and products from stores following a public backlash over his Instagram post that included a ‘Black Sun’ symbol, an image associated with Nazi Germany and used by neo-Nazis.

Publisher Pan MacMillan was among those publicly distancing themselves from Evans, telling retailers they could return his books.

Kitchenware brand Baccarat said it would stop producing and selling a line of products carrying his name.

His upcoming appearance on Australia’s ‘I’m a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here’ reality television show was also reportedly cancelled.

The since-deleted post features an image of a caterpillar wearing a ‘Make America Great Again’ cap speaking with a butterfly that has the ‘Black Sun’ symbol on its wing.

In a later video to his 1.7 million social media followers, Evans said allegations made against him were “untrue, unfactual and a load of garbage”. He also claimed he had to “Google what neo-Nazi meant”.