No laughing matter: Comedian Lawrence Mooney rips into Pete Evans after he shared a Nazi meme on social media – and reveals why the disgraced chef will be celebrating his notoriety
Australian comedian Lawrence Mooney has ripped into controversial celebrity chef Pete Evans on his Triple M radio show, Moonman in the Morning.
On Wednesday, the 55-year-old funnyman branded the former MKR star ‘Pete the peanut’ for sharing a ‘deeply offensive, pro-Nazi’ cartoon on Instagram.
‘Pete, you can’t put neo-Nazi symbols on Insta for a laugh,’ he said in disbelief.
‘You can’t put neo-Nazi symbols on Insta!’ Australian comedian Lawrence Mooney ripped into controversial celebrity chef Pete Evans on his Triple M radio show on Wednesday
After explaining how many companies have now cut ties with Pete over the controversy, including Woolworths and Big W, Lawrence then branded the celebrity chef ‘paranoid’.
‘But being a paranoid anti-vaxxer, he’ll see it as the system trying to silence him,’ he said.
‘And guess what? It’s the system trying to silence him! Pete, you can’t keep saying whatever you want and not expect repercussions.’
‘Pete, ya can’t keep saying whatever you want and not expect repercussions,’ he said
Evans was dropped by 15 sponsors and companies after posting a neo-Nazi meme to social media over the weekend.
The list includes his publisher Pan Macmillan, bookstore Dymocks, BIG W, Coles, kitchenware company Baccarat, Woolworths, House homewares, Target, Kmart, Booktopia, David Jones and Channel 10’s I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!
Also severing ties are Readings and Gleebooks bookstores, while Natural Raw C coconut water revealed it had ended its agreement with the 47-year-old disgraced chef earlier this year.
Dropped: Evans was dropped by 15 sponsors and companies after posting a neo-Nazi meme to social media over the weekend
Evans has faced significant backlash for sharing the neo-Nazi meme on Facebook on Sunday.
The post was a cartoon of a caterpillar wearing a MAGA cap and a butterfly with the racist Black Sun emblem on its wing – with the suggestion being that neo-Nazism is the natural evolution for Donald Trump supporters.
Pete is an enthusiastic supporter of the president and advocates the baseless claim that Joe Biden only won the 2020 election due to voter fraud.
The Black Sun symbol became infamous after it was introduced by top-ranking Nazi Heinrich Himmler during World War II.
Meme: The post was a cartoon of a caterpillar wearing a MAGA cap and a butterfly with the racist Black Sun emblem on its wing – with the suggestion being that neo-Nazism is the natural evolution for Donald Trump supporters
The symbol has since been adopted by numerous neo-Nazi groups, and by Christchurch mosque shooter Brenton Tarrant.
Evans seemingly confirmed he was aware of the meaning of the symbol when a fan stated they recognised it, and Pete replied: ‘I was waiting for someone to see that.’
He later deleted the post on Monday afternoon and replaced it with an image of a rainbow heart alongside an ‘apology’ in which he claimed he would be ‘studying all of the symbols that have ever existed’ to make sure he doesn’t offend anyone again.
‘Sincere apologies to anyone who misinterpreted a previous post of a caterpillar and a butterfly having a chat over a drink and perceived that I was promoting hatred,’ he wrote.
‘I look forward to studying all of the symbols that have ever existed and research them thoroughly before posting. Hopefully this symbol resonates deeply into the hearts of ALL!’
‘Sincere apologies to anyone who misinterpreted a previous post of a caterpillar and a butterfly having a chat over a drink and perceived that I was promoting hatred,’ Pete wrote