The cookbook author known as the Meal Prep King will no longer be published by Penguin Random House after he posted a misogynistic video on social media.
John Clark, whose book The Meal Prep King Plan was a Sunday Times bestseller, repeatedly referred to women as “fucking scruffy cunts” during an Instagram live on Monday night, according to a clip shared on social media.
“I do kind of like pissing women off,” the Bolton-based writer and lifestyle influencer said during the live stream. He insisted that he was “not against women”, but said he did not agree with “fucking women thinking they have some sort of hierarchy”.
One fan watching the stream commented: “I want to return [the book] now”, with another saying they were “heartbroken”.
Responding, Clark said: “No need to be heartbroken, I’m not really this bad in general, but I am … certain things.”
“But you must admit,” he added, “women want to self-sabotage men. Fuck off.”
The author had a black eye visible during the video, which he said was caused by being “whacked”.
A former fan, Chloe Jayde, shared a clip from the live stream on Twitter, tagging Clark’s publisher Penguin and noting “this is just a small snippet of the derogatory language used”.
The publisher responded from its official UK Twitter account, tweeting that it was “appalled” by Clark’s “unacceptable behaviour”.
“We do not have any more books under contract with John and will not be working with him in future,” Penguin UK added.
Clark rose to fame after he started sharing his diet and routine on social media. He and his partner, Charlotte Deniz, prepare all of their meals for the week on a Sunday, which they portion and store in the fridge or freezer ready for mealtimes. This method has helped the couple to save money and lose weight, and has gained Clark more than 400,000 followers on Instagram and 1.5 million on TikTok.
In 2019, Penguin signed a two-book deal with Clark, with The Meal Prep King Plan published in 2020, and The Meal Prep King: Prep Yourself Slim earlier this year.
John Clark has been contacted for comment.
