First Nations Australians have called for TV chef Jamie Oliver to withdraw his children’s book from sale, saying it includes a “damaging stereotype of First Nations people and experiences.”
The British TV chef and author has apologised for the offence he has caused to indigenous Australians with his children’s book Billy and the Epic Escape.
The Guardian newspaper reports that the the book’s subplot has a young First Nations girl living in foster care in an indigenous community near Alice Springs who is stolen by the book’s villain.
The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Corporation (Natsiec) has called the story “damaging, disrespectful, accusing Oliver of contributing to the “erasure, trivialisation, and stereotyping of First Nations peoples and experiences.” They have called for the withdrawal of the book.
Oliver has told The Guardian he is “devastated” by the offence he has caused and has issued an apology, as have his publishers Penguin House Random House UK (PRH UK). However, they have not yet committed to withdrawing the book from sale.