The famous chef Jamie Oliver had to withdraw from the market his last published book for children because of the controversies it created, writes Reuters on Monday.
Jamie Oliver is forced to withdraw his children’s book from the market/PHOTO: Wikipedia
In his book entitled “Billy and the Epic Escape”, which launched in May this year, Jamie Oliver promoted several stereotypes about the Indigenous community in Australia. In the book, the chef talks about a girl who is kidnapped by a villain, a sensitive subject in that country, where indigenous children are forcibly separated from their parents for decades.
Jamie Oliver also mixed the different indigenous languages in several passages. He later publicly apologized for the mistakes made and announced that he would withdraw the book from sale.
“I am devastated that I have caused offense and apologize from the bottom of my heart. It was never my intention to misconstrue this deeply painful issue. Together with my publishers we have decided to withdraw the book from sale”said Oliver, who is currently in Australia, according to The Guardian.
Sue-Anne Hunter, a member of a government commission that deals with protecting the rights of the indigenous community, says the remarks in Jamie Oliver’s book are insensitive.
“The publication of Jamie Oliver’s children’s book is a deeply troubling example of how Indigenous people continue to face misrepresentation and cultural appropriation in the media“, she said in a post on social media.
Australia’s indigenous community suffered centuries of discrimination when they were colonized by Britain in the late 18th century. Thousands of children were then forcibly taken from their families and placed in the care of white families until the 1970s, in a policy now known as “The Stolen Generation”.
Indigenous Australians are among the oldest communities in the world and speak hundreds of different languages.
