Conspiracy theorist Pete Evans will not appear in the upcoming season of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! after sharing a meme featuring neo-Nazi symbolism on Facebook.
Hardly the worst punishment for publishing fascist iconography on your profile, but it is what it is.
After rumours that the pandemic truther and occasional chef will appear on the reality TV series, Network 10 today denied Evans will feature in the latest season.
“Network 10 can confirm that Pete Evans will not be appearing on this season of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!” a network spokesperson today confirmed to The Herald Sun.
Evans’ appearance on the show had not yet been confirmed. However, the Herald Sun states Evans was thought to be undertaking a period of pre-production coronavirus quarantine before filming kicks off in NSW.
The furore kicked off over the weekend when Evans posted a meme featuring the Black Sun, a symbol adopted by neo-Nazi groups and the Christchurch shooter.
One reader correctly identified the symbol in the comment section.
“I was waiting for someone to see that,” Evans replied.
In a subsequent message, Evans said the image had multiple interpretations, including ones linked to White supremacy and Nazism.
He claimed not to subscribe to those particular beliefs, but didn’t really seem concerned that he was re-sharing extremist symbolism.
The original post and Evans’ responses drew a considerable backlash, which prompted his cookbook publisher, Pan Macmillan, to announce they are “finalising” their contract with the guy.
Evans has not directly commented on the I’m A Celeb report or the Pan Macmillan dumping, but he did return to Instagram overnight to address the broader controversy.
He didn’t apologise for posting the Black Sun meme, but did claim his post was “misinterpreted”.
“I look forward to studying all of the symbols that have ever existed and research them thoroughly before posting,” he said, shittily.
