Pete Evans defends his controversial comments about sunscreen

Celebrity chef Pete Evans has appeared live on radio to defend his controversial comments about sunscreen after facing huge backlash around the country.

Pete first ran into trouble at the weekend during a ‘Question and Answer’ session on his Facebook page where he said sunscreen was full of “poisonous chemicals”

“The silly thing is people put on normal chemical sunscreen then lay out in the sun for hours on end and think that they are safe because they have covered themselves in poisonous chemicals which is a recipe for disaster as we are witnessing these days,” he wrote.

“We need to respect the sun but not hide from it either as it is so beneficial for us, but use common sense.

“The goal is always never to burn yourself.”

His views were slammed by the Cancer Council and millions of Australians who know first-hand just how dangerous the sun can be.

Now, Pete has appeared on Sydney radio station 2Day FM where he told hosts Rove McManus and Sam Frost that he was “taken out of context” and he is “just trying to share the truth”.

“I never said ‘don’t use it’, I just said ‘choose wisely’,” he argued.

“I definitely give advice that people should get out into the sun and get a daily dose of vitamin D without burning.

“Is it not also intelligent or smart to actually question what we are rubbing on our kids’ faces and bodies? What we are feeding them? How our food is grown?”

When pressed by the hosts, who suggested he should be careful about the advice he dolls out as an “influential person” in the media, things turned fiery.

“I thought I’m talking to intelligent people here,” Pete snapped back.

“You only have to look around at the current state of Australia’s health to realise that there is issues going on, major issues,” he said, suggesting that people need to get more vitamin D from the sun.

The Australian Medical Association has also slammed Pete’s comments and said he should know better.

Saxon Smith, a councillor for the AMA in New South Wales, told News Corp: “Australia still has one of the highest rates of skin cancer in the world and for someone with such a high profile to be talking such rubbish is purely irresponsible.

“Pete Evans has no idea what he’s talking about when it comes to sunscreen. Wearing sunscreen every day is one of the best ways you can avoid skin cancer.”

What are your thoughts on this? Should Pete Evans rethink his stance on this? Or, do you agree with him?