Sharp criticism Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver withdraws children's book

The young adult novel "Billy and the Epic Escape" is about, among other things, a girl who belongs to Australia's indigenous population. But real indigenous people criticize the portrayal.

British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver (49) has withdrawn a book because of complaints from Aboriginal Australians. His young adult novel "Billy and the Epic Escape" is about, among other things, a girl who belongs to the country's indigenous population.

As the Guardian reported, the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Corporation (Natsiec) sharply criticized the book.

The depiction of Aboriginal people and their traditions ignores their violent oppression and is "irresponsible and harmful and reflects a profound lack of understanding and respect", the society criticized.

Jamie Oliver expresses his dismay

The girl in Oliver's book, for example, has the ability to read minds and speak to animals, which is referred to as the "indigenous way". According to the Guardian, Natsiec boss Sharon Davis criticized that this reduces the faith and spirituality of the indigenous people to "magic". In addition, indigenous words are said to have been assigned to the wrong region.

Oliver expressed his dismay in a statement and apologized. "It was never my intention to misrepresent this deeply painful matter. Together with my publishers, we have decided to withdraw the book from sale," the celebrity chef told the British news agency PA.

The publisher had admitted to the Guardian that it had not consulted with indigenous organizations or individuals prior to publication.

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