Married At First Sight’s Natasha Spencer has had a social media sponsorship deal revoked after publicly supporting coronavirus conspiracy theorist Pete Evans.
Taking to Instagram Stories on Tuesday, Spencer shared a screenshot of a text message exchange between herself and a sponsor, who told her his company was cutting all ties with her for promoting ‘Pete Evans propaganda’ on her platform.
Brett O’Rourke from Aus Clothing Depot told Spencer that Evans was a ‘chef, not a f**king scientist’ and suggested that she remove her posts endorsing his false and dangerous views.
Spencer, 26, who recently shared a misleading Instagram post comparing COVID-19 to the flu, hit back at the businessman’s ‘belittling and obscene’ message, and accused him of ‘utter unprofessionalism’.
Cutting ties: Married At First Sight’s Natasha Spencer has had a social media sponsorship deal revoked after publicly supporting coronavirus conspiracy theorist Pete Evans
Mr O’Rourke had messaged Spencer: ‘Unfortunately Natasha, we will be rescinding any offer of sponsorship at this time.
‘I’d highly suggest you remove any and all Pete Evans propaganda from your page as you have a strong influence on a young audience. He is a chef, not a f**king scientist.’
Spencer furiously responded: ‘Please don’t swear in your communications with me. Highly unprofessional.’
‘Scientist or chef, numbers are numbers,’ she added, before her message cut off in the screenshot.
Spencer accompanied the post with the following message for her followers: ‘If you use your profile to communicate with potential ambassadors, try not to follow it with complete and utter unprofessionalism, obscenities and belittling statements.’
Mr O’Rourke told Daily Mail Australia on Wednesday that Spencer’s support of Evans was just the final straw after several examples of unprofessional behaviour on her part.
‘Unprofessional!’ Taking to Instagram Stories on Tuesday, Spencer shared a screenshot of a text message exchange between herself and a sponsor, who told her his company was cutting all ties with her for promoting ‘Pete Evans propaganda’ on her platform
Not happy: Spencer, 26, who recently shared a misleading Instagram post comparing COVID-19 to the flu, hit back at businessman Brett O’Rourke’s ‘belittling and obscene’ message, and accused him of ‘utter unprofessionalism’
Mr O’Rourke revealed that he’d wanted to support smaller influencers following the international growth and success of his business.
However, he had difficulty working with Spencer, who cancelled their plans to have a telephone meeting.
Mr O’Rourke claimed there was a further missed phone call and she later failed to respond to his request to meet in person in Sydney to discuss the sponsorship.
‘I sell masks on my website and am a huge believer in science. So when I saw the Pete Evans s**t, I thought f**k this! She’s an influencer with young followers,’ he said.
‘It’s also offensive to someone who has been in lockdown for weeks and has lost their family members to the virus.’
Mr O’Rourke claimed that he and his family had been subjected to vicious trolling from Spencer’s supporters after she publicly shared his message, forcing him to temporarily shut down his website.
The full story: Mr O’Rourke told Daily Mail Australia on Wednesday that Spencer’s support of Evans was just the final straw after several examples of unprofessional behaviour on her part
Mr O’Rourke has advised Spencer that he intends to send her a cease-and-desist letter after she failed to take down her Instagram Story post when he asked her to do so. However, he claims she has questioned the legitimacy of the letter.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Natasha Spencer for comment.
Spencer is just the latest in a string of D-list celebrities who have expressed their support for disgraced former My Kitchen Rules judge Pete Evans.
Evans is an outspoken COVID-19 denier, and recently lost his $800,000-a-year job at Channel Seven because of his dangerous and unscientific views.
Misinformation: Spencer is just the latest in a string of D-list celebrities who have expressed their support for disgraced former My Kitchen Rules judge Pete Evans (pictured)
In July, Evans claimed that COVID-19 was a ‘f**king hoax’ and that the pandemic ‘doesn’t compare to what is happening in the world on a large scale’.
Among his false claims about the pandemic, Evans has previously declared he’s immune to coronavirus and blamed the health crisis on 5G technology.
Last month, Spencer shared her ill-informed thoughts on the pandemic, saying that the government response wasn’t justified.
‘I’m not saying it’s a conspiracy. I’m not saying don’t wear a mask. Wear a mask. Follow the rules. Absolutely,’ she said on Instagram Stories.
‘But there are questions which have to be asked of our government as to why last year even though the flu had 900 people die and 300,000 infections, we didn’t go into lockdown.’
While she acknowledged there was a flu vaccine, she downplayed the number of deaths caused by coronavirus.
Harmful views: In July, Evans claimed that COVID-19 was a ‘f**king hoax’ and that the pandemic ‘doesn’t compare to what is happening in the world on a large scale’
‘Right now we have less than that with corona. And you can say that’s because of lockdown, yes. I think lockdown is great, that we’ve made people aware of germs and healthy living,’ she said.
‘But what I am saying is 360 billion dollars has been lost for our economy. A billion dollars per death from coronavirus.
‘It’s insane when you start thinking about it, and comparing it. Why don’t we go into lockdown for the flu if that’s what we are worried about?’
‘A billion dollars per death could be put into things like mental health, cancer research, could be put into like, so many frickin’ things. And why isn’t it? That’s all I’m asking,’ she added.
‘Why don’t we go into lockdown for the flu?’ Last month, Spencer shared her ill-informed thoughts on the pandemic, saying that the government response wasn’t justified
She went on to insist that ‘numbers don’t lie’ and asked why Australia had resorted to ‘such extreme circumstances when the death toll is low? There’s more places we can put the money.’
Contrary to Spencer’s claims, research shows that COVID-19 spreads more easily than the flu, and has a higher death rate.
An American study released in May suggested that the novel coronavirus is about five times deadlier for adults than the seasonal flu.
Why she is wrong: Contrary to Spencer’s claims, research shows that COVID-19 spreads more easily than the flu, and has a higher death rate. An American study released in May suggested that the novel coronavirus is about five times deadlier for adults than the seasonal flu