Jamie Oliver has issued an apology for allegedly ‘stereotyping’ Indigenous Australians in his second children’s book.
The celebrity chef, 49, is currently in Australia prompting his latest cookbook, Simply Jamie, but it is another of his tomes that has been causing a stir in the country.
His children’s book, Billy And The Epic Escape, has come under fire from The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Corporation (NATSIEC).
The education body has called for the book, a 400-page fantasy novel for primary school children, to be removed from circulation, The Guardian reported.
The NATSIEC have slammed the release as ‘damaging and disrespectful’ and claimed it contributes to the stereotyping of First Nations Australians.
Oliver and publisher Penguin Random House UK have since issued apologies, admitting no consultation with Indigenous Australians took place before publication.
‘I am devastated to hear I have caused offence and wholly apologise for doing so,’ Oliver told The Guardian in a statement.
‘I am listening and reflecting and working closely with my publisher on next steps.’
Jamie Oliver has issued an apology for allegedly ‘stereotyping’ Indigenous Australians in his second children’s book
Meanwhile, Penguin Random House admitted the lack of consultation with Indigenous Australians was an ‘editorial oversight’.
NATSEIC’s chief executive Sharon Davis had claimed the book ‘perpetuated harmful stereotypes’ and that its depiction of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders was ‘irresponsible’.
‘We urge Penguin Books and Jamie Oliver to recognise the impact of their content and take swift action to prevent further harm,’ she told The Guardian.
‘Penguin Books should pull Billy and the Epic Escape from circulation, specifically removing all content involving First Nations characters and cultural references.’
The book is Oliver’s 2024 follow-up to his 2023 children’s book debut Billy and the Giant Adventure.
It features a subplot of a young First Nations girl who is living in foster care before being stolen by the book’s antagonist from her Indigenous community near Alice Springs.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Oliver and Penguin Books for further comment.
His children’s book, Billy And The Epic Escape, has come under fire from The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Corporation (NATSIEC)
The education body has called for the book, a 400-page fantasy novel for primary school-aged children, to be removed from circulation, prompting Oliver to issue an apology statement
Oliver is currently in Australia to present a live chat about his new book Simply Jamie at Sydney’s Coliseum dubbed Jamie Oliver – The Joy of Cooking.
Oliver first rose to fame on The Naked Chef cooking show, which ran from 1999 to 2001.
Jamie’s television and publishing career has seen him sell more than 46million books globally, and reach an estimated worldwide TV audience of 67million.
Jamie recently revealed that his road to success was made bumpy by jealous rivals and even his ‘heroes’.
‘In the early days, in the first five years of my career, lots of my heroes were so f**king horrible to me,’ he told the Daily Telegraph.
‘Honestly, they were so jealous of my success, and I was only a young boy.’
He continued: ‘It was the only thing that I struggled with for those first five years, because these people I looked up to were just destroying me on a regular basis, and they couldn’t work out how it was that I was selling more books than all of them put together.’
