"Forgotten pizza cook" Pete Evans' wild new look
Former Seven personality Pete Evans has made an unexpected appearance on social media, though many took a moment longer than usual to realise who it was they were looking at in the clip.
The former chef and My Kitchen Rules judge was a far cry from the polished persona audiences had come to expect from his days at the helm of the hit cooking competition, roaming through an outdoor kitchen in a ‘Food is Medicine’ t-shirt and unexpected mullet cut.
The footage marked a new chapter in Evans’ public fall from grace, and as one account sharing the content wrote, it had “captured a quick raw video of the set up” for a cooking retreat with eight guests and “approx 25 recipes”.
It did provide some insight into Evans’ new ‘career’ path, with the chef having turned his back on the entertainment industry in 2020, after 11 years as a household name hosting My Kitchen Rules.
His controversial opinions on health - and his mounting support in conspiracy theories as well as his non-scientifics views - had initially turned attention his way, but it was his take on the global COVID-19 pandemic that sealed his fate.
Also in 2020, Evans received a $25,000 fine from the TGA for his part in peddling a $15,000 ‘Biocharger’ device with the incorrect claim that it could combat the coronavirus.
Evans was quickly removed from social media - namely Facebook and Instagram - for spreading misinformation during the pandemic, and lost 15 different sponsors in just 38 hours after sharing a meme that contained a neo-Nazi symbol with his remaining followers. It was estimated that the latter act alone could cost Evans millions of dollars.
In the time since, Evans has purchased a $1 million tourist ‘healing’ retreat close to Byron Bay, where he offers the likes of ‘fasting retreats’ - charging $2250 a head for a “5-day juice, water, and froth fast” with Evans.
When news of the venture broke on social media, opinion poured in thick and fast, with most condemning the experience.
However, it wasn’t enough to keep Evans from returning to the internet, with the 50-year-old launching his presence on the alternative platform, Telegram, where he shares the likes of detail on his retreats, his experience with bitcoin, anti-vaccination takes, and right-wing political opinion.
As one user wrote in response - and on behalf of the majority - to the fresh footage of the disgraced chef, “I won’t have what he’s having”.
Obviously vaccines are bad. Not ‘licking toads’ though. That’s cool. Forgotten pizza cook Pete Evans continues to have a normal one. @krunchymoses @petesscience pic.twitter.com/a5fDzGIups
— Cam (@camliveshere) June 2, 2023
“This is a hard second-hand cringe,” one said.
“And here I was thinking that scone of his couldn't get any more offensive,” another said. “I was wrong.”
“So funny, and sad at same time hope he is ok,” one wrote, “but I have had 4 vax, travelled [the] world twice in ]the last 12 months, kept a good job and have healthy friends and fam around me. Pete's approach hmmmm”.
And as someone else pointed out., “he seems quite short of breath after placing a few small sticks under the pizza oven. Not a great advert for his lifestyle.”
Images: Twitter, Facebook