Controversial celebrity chef Pete Evans is quitting Facebook. Photo / Facebook
Love him or hate him, you won't be seeing him on your Facebook feed anymore.
Controversial celebrity chef turned conspiracy theorist Pete Evans has announced he is quitting the social media platform and the nearly 1.5 million followers he has amassed.
It comes after the television star made headlines this week for sharing a neo-Nazi cartoon.
Before that he'd claimed people were not spreaders of the deadly coronavirus, sparking an outpouring of criticism.
It all resulted in Evans being dumped by his publisher, with people boycotting brands he was associated with, and Channel 10 axing him from a potential appearance on I'm a Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here! after the savage social media backlash he received.
Evans announced Friday afternoon that it was time say goodbye to Facebook.
"Thank you all for sharing your stories of beautiful health transformations and for giving me a bloody good laugh and cry along the way," he said.
"Get your popcorn out as this is not the end, however, just a beautiful new transition into a space of love, education, knowledge and not being censored ever again," he added, telling people to subscribe to his personal platforms and newsletter.
"You are all welcome to explore and connect. We have so much in store for 2021 that will continue the evolution of long term sustainable health for humanity and the planet."
He also plugged his Byron Bay health retreat opening in February.
"Peace and love to all," he finished, with several emojis.
Fans flooded his post with messages of support, devastated to see him go.
It was hard to find a negative reaction, perhaps because as one commenter who slipped through pointed out, "And still deletes the negative comments in his final hours. Classic."
Another person wrote, "Used to be Pete Evans fan. Not anymore, bye."
One person joked, "I hope that when the mothership returns to beam you up, you don't bump your head on the hatch door."
Earlier this week Evans uploaded a video to his Facebook where he denied knowing what the neo-Nazi symbol meant, despite a comment on his original post indicating he did.
"Just when you thought 2020 couldn't get any more bizarre, the mainstream media have come out and labelled me a racist and a neo-Nazi," he said.
"The fact that I actually had to Google what neo-Nazi meant is pretty telling. So I just want to tell you this once and one time only, it is completely untrue, unfactual and a load of garbage. Anybody that knows me knows that I stand for long-term, sustainable health for all humanity."
A few years ago, Evans was one of Australia's most bankable foodies, helping reel in hundreds of thousands of viewers on reality juggernaut My Kitchen Rules.
But today his reputation is in tatters after a series of spectacular scandals not only derailed his career, but also cost him a fortune in cancelled TV appearances and future advertising deals.
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