Children’s book by Chief Jamie Oliver withdrawn after insult from First Nation Australians

LONDON (AP) – A children’s book written by British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver has been withdrawn from sale after being criticized for offending First Nation Australians.

The Guardian newspaper reported on Saturday that the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Corporation blasted “Billy and the Epic Escape,” which was published earlier this year.

The group criticized one of the book’s subplots, which tells the story of a First Nations girl living in foster care, as contributing to the “erasure, trivialization and stereotyping of First Nations peoples and experiences.”

Oliver, 49, said in a statement that he was “devastated” that he had caused offense and apologized “wholeheartedly”.

“It was never my intention to misinterpret this deeply painful matter,” he said. “Together with the publishers, we have decided to withdraw the book from sale.”

First Nation campaigners were particularly stunned that neither Oliver nor his publishers, Penguin Random House, had consulted them before the novel was published.

“It is clear that our broadcast standards have fallen short in this case, and we must learn from this and take decisive action,” the broadcaster said. “With this in mind, we have agreed with our author, Jamie Oliver, to withdraw the book from sale.”

Oliver, who is in Australia to promote his latest recipe book, is among the long list of celebrities who have made their name in children’s books; It’s a trend criticized by many children’s authors, who say their market is becoming crowded.

Oliver published his first children’s book, “Billy And The Giant Adventure,” last year, and said in a social media post that he “carefully chose the font to ensure the text was as clear as possible” so that dyslexic people like himself could find it. It’s hard to read.

Oliver, who rose to fame in 1999 with his book and television show “The Naked Chef”, has long been a campaigner for children’s food and nutrition, and caused outrage in 2005 when he made harsh criticisms of the nutrition of some UK school meals.