Jamie Oliver responds to backlash over his breastfeeding comments
TV chef does an honest U-turn and admits that breastfeeding is "often not easy"
When Jamie Oliver said breastfeeding was "easy" on the radio last week, he couldn't have predicted how offended women would be.
But now the celebrity chef – and soon to be dad-of-5 – has released a statement explaining what he really meant to say.
"I understand that breastfeeding is often not easy and in some cases not even possible," he posted on Twitter. "But just wanted to support women who DO want to breastfeed and make it easier for them to do so."
He went on to say that he expects the Prime Minister to include supporting pregnant women in his childhood obesity strategy.
"I would never wish to offend women or mums as I knows how incredible they are and I would get a kicking when I got home!" he added.
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Well, we're glad he's cleared that up.
Last week, on LBC radio, Jamie said: "We have the worst breastfeeding in the world.
"If you breastfeed for more than six months, women are 50% less likely to get breast cancer. When do you ever hear that? Never.
"It's easy, it's more convenient, it's more nutritious, it's better, it's free."
We couldn't find the source of his 50% stat - although there is a general agreement among experts that breastfeeding can reduce the risk of breast cancer, but there's still a lot of research to do to understand how and why.
But it's the rest of his comment that angered SO many people. Here's just 2 of the many reactions on Twitter…
Jamie – who's wife Jools is expecting their 5th child – has now confirmed he WON'T be starting a campaign around breastfeeding.
We think perhaps Jools had a little word...
Photo: Getty
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