Joey Chestnut, a legendary competitive eating celebrity, has responded to the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest’s announcement of banning him from this year’s competition by signing on to compete in Netflix‘s live hot dog eating contest airing on Labor Day.
Netflix will reignite a longtime rivalry between Chestnut and fellow competitive eater Takeru Kobayashi by hosting the Chestnut vs. Kobayashi: Unfinished Beef special.
“A rivalry simmering for 15 years,” Netflix teased on Wednesday in a social media post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
Kobayashi had recently announced in May during Netflix’s documentary Hack Your Health: The Secrets of Your Gut that he was done with competitive eating, saying, “I’ve decided to retire from competitive eating. It’s all I’ve done for the last 20 years.”
Chestnut’s longtime rival reversed his decision following the news of Nathan’s ban of Chestnut. The ban came when the competition discovered that he had signed a deal endorsing the vegan hot dog brand Impossible Foods.
“Retiring for me will only happen after I take him down one last time,” Kobayashi said. “This rivalry has been brewing for a long time. Competing against Joey live on Netflix means fans all over the world can watch me knock him out.”
Chestnut was encouraged that his “fiercest rival” would jump back into competitive eating to take him on in another competition.
“Through all of my years in competitive eating, Kobayashi stands out as my fiercest rival,” Chestnut said in a statement. “Competing against him pushed me to be so much better. I know that fans have waited a long time for another chapter of our rivalry and I can’t wait for our massive showdown live on Netflix! It’s time to give the people what they want!”
Prior to the Netflix announcement, Chestnut had responded to the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest’s decision with a social media thread.
“I was gutted to learn from the media that after 19 years Im banned from the Nathan’s July 4th Hot Dog Eating Contest,” Chestnut wrote on X. “I love competing in that event, I love celebrating America with my fans all over this great country on the 4th and I have been training to defend my title.
He said, “To set the record straight, I do not have a contract with MLE or Nathans and they are looking to change the rules from past years as it relates to other partners I can work with. This is apparently the basis on which I’m being banned, and it doesn’t impact the July 4th event.”
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“Sadly, this is the decision Nathan’s and Major League Eating are making, and it will deprive the great fans of the holiday’s usual joy and entertainment. To my fans, I love you and appreciate you. Rest assured that you’ll see me eat again soon!! STAY HUNGRY!” he said, concluding his post.
Chestnut has won the Nathan’s event 16 times, conquered 55 eating world records, and has continued to hold the record of chowing down 76 hot dogs in 10 minutes. His upcoming opponent, Kobayashi, said he believes he personally has “eaten 10,000 hot dogs” throughout his career.
