TV chef Jamie Oliver withdraws book after depiction of Indigenous Australians

11/11/2024 12:17

        Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver has withdrawn his latest children's book from sale after criticism it stereotyped members of Australia's Indigenous community.
        
        Oliver's "Billy and the Epic Escape", released in May, contains a passage where an Indigenous Australian girl living in foster care is abducted by the story's villain - a sensitive issue in a country where Indigenous children were for decades forcibly removed from their parents.
        
        It also contained errors made by mixing different Indigenous languages.
        
        The Guardian newspaper reported on Sunday Oliver apologised for the offence caused by the book.
        
        "I am devastated to have caused offence and apologise wholeheartedly," Oliver, who is currently in Australia promoting his latest cookbook, said in a statement.
        
        "It was never my intention to misinterpret this deeply painful issue. Together with my publishers we have decided to withdraw the book from sale."