Controversial celebrity chef Pete Evans has claimed unnamed pharmaceutical companies and rival television networks were behind a “character assassination” campaign that contributed to his dramatic exit from mainstream media during the pandemic.
Speaking in a lengthy interview on The Karl Stefanovic Show, Evans revisited the controversies that saw him dumped by the Seven Network and removed from social media platforms after repeatedly sharing COVID-19 misinformation.
Stefanovic opened the discussion by suggesting Evans had been unfairly targeted by the media.
“It was an assassination of Pete Evans,” the Today host said during the interview, even apologising if he had ever called Evans a “whack job” in the past – an apology the former My Kitchen Rules judge accepted with laughter.
Evans rose to fame as a celebrity chef and wellness advocate, with his paleo cookbooks becoming bestsellers across Australia. But his public image unravelled in 2020 when he began questioning the severity of COVID-19 and promoting unproven health claims online.
His Facebook and Instagram accounts were eventually removed for repeated breaches of misinformation policies, while the Therapeutic Goods Administration fined him $25,000 for promoting an unapproved device as a treatment for COVID-19. Soon after, Seven cut ties with the television personality.
During the podcast interview, Evans suggested his commercial success had made him a target. “We sold over a million cookbooks, which is sort of unheard of in the cookbook space,” he said. “When they became super powerful, that’s when the attacks from the mainstream media … And it wasn’t the mainstream media per se. I mean, rival networks would have a dig …”
Evans went further, claiming pharmaceutical companies and the medical establishment viewed him as a threat because of his advocacy for healthy eating and alternative wellness approaches.
“My Kitchen Rules was number one, nationally, and if you’re a rival network, you will find any excuse to have a go at one of the people on the show,” he said. “What was really surprising … was this was a threat to pharmaceutical companies, the medical establishment.”
When Stefanovic asked directly whether he believed pharmaceutical companies were “feeding” or “stoking” the criticism, Evans replied: “100 per cent.”
However, when pressed on whether he had evidence to support the allegation, Evans declined to provide specifics, saying only that he had “heard things” but did not want to get involved in a “legal thing”.
“I would not be surprised if there was a co-ordinated effort to … attack someone,” he said.
Evans maintained he had simply been encouraging healthier lifestyles. “All I was sharing was organic fruits and vegetables, which are probably better than foods that have been sprayed with chemicals,” he said.
The interview also reignited debate online, with Stefanovic promoting the episode on social media using the phrase “the big pharma scam” while describing Evans as one of his most requested guests.
Reaction from viewers was sharply divided. Some welcomed the interview, with one commenter writing “can’t wait to hear this one”, while another praised Stefanovic for hosting the controversial chef.
Others were highly critical of the decision to give Evans a platform. “I could fry eggs on this photo, it is so cooked,” one user joked.
“You have lost a supporter,” another wrote, while others questioned why Evans was being given airtime at all.
The podcast did not revisit one of Evans’ biggest controversies from late 2020, when he shared an image featuring a black sun symbol associated with neo-Nazi and white supremacist movements. The post – which also featured a caterpillar wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat – was quickly deleted after backlash erupted online. Evans later apologised, saying he had not understood the meaning of the symbol and promising to “study” and “research” imagery more carefully before reposting content online.
The fallout was immediate, with major retailers including Woolworths, Coles, Kmart and Target removing his merchandise from shelves. Evans later revisited the controversy during a 2025 appearance on the Secrets of the Underworld podcast, insisting he had no idea the image carried neo-Nazi associations.
“I just saw the Donald Trump hat and thought it was funny,” he said at the time.
Evans also strongly denied being linked to extremist ideologies. “Just for the record, I’m not a neo-Nazi, never have been, never will be,” he said. “I love all cultures, all cuisines, I respect everybody, every race.”
Image: Instagram
