Jamie Oliver has apologised and withdrawn a children’s book he wrote after it was criticised for causing offence to First Nation Australians.
The TV chef and father-of-five is among a long list of celebrities to have produced their own book for youngsters.
It comes after the Australian subplot in Jamie’s 400-page fantasy novel, Billy and the Epic Escape, was criticised for being damaging and disrespectful.
As reported by The Guardian, National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Corporation (Natsiec) blasted the book, which tells the story of a First Nations girl living in foster care, for contributing to the ‘erasure, trivialisation, and stereotyping of First Nations peoples and experiences’.
In a statement, Jamie, 49, said: ‘I am devastated to have caused offence and apologise wholeheartedly.
‘It was never my intention to misinterpret this deeply painful issue. Together with my publishers, we have decided to withdraw the book from sale.’
A spokesman for publisher Penguin Random House said: ‘Our mission at Penguin Random House UK is to make books for everyone and with that commitment comes a deep sense of responsibility.
‘It is clear that our publishing standards fell short on this occasion, and we must learn from that and take decisive action.
‘With that in mind, we have agreed with our author, Jamie Oliver, that we will be withdrawing the book from sale.’
Meanwhile, Natsiec’s chief executive, Sharon Davies, has declared that the book declared that pulling the book from shelves was the only way to rectify the harm caused.
She said that book ‘perpetuated harmful stereotypes, trivialised complex and painful histories’ and ‘ignores the violent oppression of First Nations people, raising serious concerns about the cultural safety of First Nations readers – especially young people’.
In a statement, she added that the book’s depiction of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander characters and cultural practices was ‘irresponsible and damaging, reflecting a profound lack of understanding and respect’.
Jamie released his first children’s book, Billy and the Giant Adventure, last year and said in a social media post that he had ‘carefully chosen the font to make sure the text is as clear as possible’, as dyslexic people like himself can find it hard to read.
The famous cook is known for fronting multiple TV series, including Jamie’s Easy Christmas (2022), Jamie Cooks The Mediterranean (2023), and Jamie: Fast and Simple, which began airing on Channel 4 last month.
In the noughties, he was known as The Naked Chef after his 1999 book and TV series of the same name. Later, he went on to sell 50million books worldwide.
He has long campaigned on children’s food and nutrition and caused a furore in 2005 when he hit out at turkey twizzlers in school meals in an attempt to make school dinners healthier for students.
Earlier in the year, he celebrated 15 years of his food education programme, the Ministry of Food, which delivers lessons on how to cook and eat healthy food at schools and communities across the UK.