'Do not air this': Viewers slam 60 Minutes for Pete Evans segment

Controversial celebrity chef Pete Evans waded back into the limelight this week with new highly political take on the Black Lives Matter protests in the United States, and now the chef is set to hit Aussie screens once again in a new interview to be broadcast on Channel Nine.

Current Affair program 60 Minutes last night released a promo announcing the chef would appear in a segment arguing his coronavirus conspiracy theories on Sunday evening against scientists, leaving die-hard fans of the chef ecstatic, and others horrified.

It’s been a rollercoaster few months for Pete who was axed from My Kitchen Rules this year, following a $25,200 fine from the Therapeutic Goods Administration over the claim that a $15,000 lamp was a potential coronavirus treatment online.

Now the chef, who has since been posting a string of increasingly counter-cultural messages purporting to expose the intricate ‘real story’ that the global pandemic has been orchestrated by a group of non-specified ‘elites’ for an as-yet unclear purpose, will be returning to screens, though the only cooking on the menu is of the conspiracy theory variety.

Pete Evans to appear on 60 Minutes to explore coronavirus conspiracy theory

60 Minutes released the promo video overnight to outrage from general viewers, and delight from the chef’s exceptionally vocal social media following.

Pete boasts just shy of 1.5 million followers on Facebook, many of whom subscribe wholeheartedly to his alternative health advice. Pete is a renowned proponent of the paleo diet and a chef with years of experience, but he has no scientific qualifications.

The promo shared to Facebook and Twitter saw an influx of Pete’s supporters do battle with the show’s viewers.

60 Minutes slammed for ‘dangerous’ decision, Evans fans ecstatic

Petes supporters encouraged others to watch with an open mind, others argued ‘mainstream media’ would spin the interview against the chef.

“Pete is exposing the truth,” many wrote.

On Twitter, however, the reaction was vastly different, with many slamming Pete and even the show for giving him a platform at all.

“How DARE 60 Minutes share dangerous, ignorant viewpoints that absolutely will put people's lives AT RISK for a few cheap views,” one woman wrote.

“Delete & do not air this harmful bullsh*t.”

“What's the upside of giving Evans more coverage?” another wondered.

“Stop giving him airtime,” another agreed.

“This is so freaking irresponsible, how in good conscience could you put [him] on your program, to talk about medical/scientific fields that he’s not qualified to talk about,” another wrote.

Pete has promised his followers to air the full ‘unedited’ two-hour interview to his social media channels.

Channel Nine has been contacted for comment.

Pete Evans has been contacted for comment.

The chef has courted a string of controversies in the past, including claiming ‘most sunscreens are dangerous’ despite Australia’s dangerous skin cancer rates and advising parents to feed newborn babies bone broth, but has ramped it up this year.

Petes shares Black Lives Matter Trump video

Earlier this week the chef shared a video of President Donald Trump declaring his intention to quash the Black Lives Matter protests and riots with ‘all federal resources, both civilian and military’.

The chef captioned the video with a love heart emoji, seeming to endorse the president’s response which has angered many. He gave no further indication of his view on the situation, simply stating he was ’sharing information that may not be seen on normal channels’.

Trump’s speech was broadcast by mainstream media, and has been made widely available online.

The US protests initially broke out after footage of George Floyd being suffocated to death by a police officer who knelt on his neck for eight minutes began circulating online.

The officer in question, Derek Chauvin, has since been charged with third-degree murder.

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