Last week, Penguin Random House withdrew celebrity chef Jamie Oliver’s children’s book, Billy and the Epic Escape, after facing criticism for harmful stereotypes of First Nations Australians. The publishing company and author apologised whole-heartedly for the mistake and admitted that a sensitivity reader had not been employed in the book’s editing process.
“It was never my intention to misinterpret this deeply painful issue,” Jamie Oliver said. “Together with my publishers, we have decided to withdraw the book from sale.”
