When embattled star, Pete Evans, was reportedly dropped from I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here, it came as no surprise.
Leading to an advertiser boycott, Network Ten was forced to remove the conspiracy theorist from their line-up after an Instagram post seemed to have a Neo-Nazi symbol on it.
Now, according to the Daily Telegraph, the network was in an unusual position as they had already started marketing him. The outlet has also reported that Evans was pulled into a “crisis meeting” where he was told he would not be appearing on the show.
Then there was the matter of replacing him.
While he hasn’t yet entered the jungle, all signs point to MasterChef regular, Colin Fassnidge who was called in at the last minute, unable to be locked in for the launch.
Fassnidge will instead come in as an “intruder” half-way through the series.
Reports also suggest that Evans was only 24 hours away from heading into the jungle — and in quarantine — however, within a short space of 24 hours, he was removed from the rota.
Network Ten have not commented on Evans’ appearance and subsequent replacement, however, did say in a statement on November 17: “Network 10 can confirm that Pete Evans will not be appearing on this season of I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!”
Pete Evans Has Been Dropped From ‘I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here’
Update: November 17, 2020
It’s been a tumultuous week for former My Kitchen Rules star, Pete Evans. On Monday, the famed celebrity chef was dropped from Australian publisher Pan MacMillan after he posted a controversial meme featuring a neo-Nazi symbol on social media.
Now, it has been announced that Evans has been dropped from the line-up of I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here.
According to TV Blackbox, Evans was fired in the early hours of November 17, after discussions between Network Ten and production company ITV were ongoing about whether he should appear on the show.
On November 16, it was confirmed by the same outlet that he had signed up to do the show, however, social media users said that they would boycott the series if he was to be cast.
Over the weekend, Evans shared a meme on his social media which featured a symbol associated with Nazism.
The cartoon showed a caterpillar wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat speaking to a butterfly and telling it “You’ve changed”, while the insect replies with: “We’re supposed to.”
He then captioned the image: “An oldie but a Goldie [sic] There are many different interpretations of this image. Peace and love to all always.”
The inside of the butterfly wings had the ‘Black Sun logo’ imprinted which was a symbol used by the Nazis in Germany and is also used by neo-Nazis and neo-fascists in modern times.
After a social media user commented on the symbolism, Evans responded: “I was waiting for someone to see that,” — a comment which has since been deleted.
Following other Facebook users negative response to the image, Evans wrote:
“It is fascinating that an image can represent so many things to so many. For many, it is a representation that we are all evolving from one thing to another,” before adding, “Others see white supremacy or nazism (which is something I definitely do not align with).”
The controversial reality star has also positioned himself as a problematic self-styled health guru, telling his decreasing following that the global coronavirus pandemic was “the biggest scandemic in history”.
This story is evolving.
For a full wrap-up of Pete Evans controversies, see the link below.
Pete Evans Dropped by Publisher Pan Macmillan After Neo-Nazi Meme