We’re the first to admit that we’ve hung a bit of shit on Pete Evans in the past. For a bit of a refresher, there was that time when his cookbook was pulled thanks to the small fact that a baby formula it promoted was potentially lethal for infants, that time when health authorities took him to task for using his celebrity to push an anti-fluoride stance, and let’s not forget about that whole activated almonds debacle, which TBH, still has us scratching our damn heads.
The My Kitchen Rules host and paleo enthusiast has copped his share of flak over the years, but this week, he hit back, labelling a recent Current Affair story on him a “witch hunt”, and an attempt to smear his name. ACA‘s report did indeed take some swipes at the chef, calling him “polarising, unqualified and dangerous” for his views on nutrition, and questioning his future employment prospects on MKR in the wake of recent controversies.
After the story aired, Evans took to Facebook to defend himself in a lengthy post, which began:
I would [like] to thank everyone that has voiced their support on social media after last nights “witch-hunt” tv segment doing their best to smear my name and create fear. I invite them to interview the thousands of peoples who’s success stories are shared here along with the health professionals listed below if they really wanted to report the TRUTH.
It is fascinating that all this backlash is over a chef, who is also a health coach that is promoting a way of life that promotes an abundance of vegetables (organic preferably), a moderate amount of well sourced animal protein and high quality fats as well as the inclusion of fermented food and broths for gut health which is endorsed by so many Doctors, Scientists, Dietitians, Naturopaths and other health professionals.
Evans also spoke to Fairfax in the wake of the criticisms, telling them that “you could look at the 700 or so comments on A Current Affair‘s Facebook page in support of this or the 1000s of comments on my Facebook page to see the consensus.”
Amongst other projects Evans mentioned, he noted that he will soon be returning to My Kitchen Rules for a seventh season along with Manu Feildel and Colin Fassnidge.
I would like to say thank you to all the people that are on here sharing their amazing stories each and every day as…
Posted by Chef Pete Evans on Monday, May 11, 2015
