Competition eating legend Joey Chestnut has once again lashed out at Nathan’s following its shocking decision to ban him from its Fourth of July hot dog eating contest.
Chestnut is a 19-year veteran of the annual Coney Island event but will not be attending this year after being barred from signing a deal with rival Impossible Foods.
Amid the unpleasant fallout from the decision, Chestnut revealed his plans to join Army soldiers at Fort Bliss military base in Texas on July 4, and is also gearing up for a Netflix showdown with longtime rival Takeru Kobayashi.
But despite moving on to other plans, Chestnut has now revealed new negotiations with Nathan’s, and hinted at a future return to the Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest.
Before that, however, he was quick to launch another attack on the hot dog giants, insisting that they and Major League Eating (MLE) “moved the goalposts.”
Joey Chestnut is a legendary figure when it comes to the Nathan’s Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest.
The stalwart will not be on stage at Coney Island this year after receiving a ban from organisers.
“It’s unfortunate,” Chestnut told the Klein.Ally.Show. “Major League Eating, Nathans, they felt really threatened by the fact that I was doing a little work with Impossible Foods. I mean, Impossible… delicious chicken nuggets and they don’t even sell hot dogs.
“I’ve never seen them in supermarkets. I think they exaggerated my relationship with them a bit.”
“I don’t know if ‘stabbed in the back’ would be the right word to describe the feeling,” he added, before noting: “I know it felt like they were moving the goalposts.
‘If I look at my contracts, I’ve been allowed to work with meat companies… they had a list of probably 60 companies I couldn’t work with and Impossible wasn’t on the list.
‘They changed the parameters of the game… Yeah, it’s strange, but you know… we have to live with it and maybe we’ll figure it out later.’
Chestnut has now revealed further talks with organisers and hinted he could return in the future.
Chestnut then spoke about his Netflix live showdown with Japanese rival Kobayashi, who will come out of retirement for the battle.
After that, the future remains unclear, but he revealed that further talks with Nathan could lead him back to the Coney Island stage down the road.
‘They contacted me and said, “Okay, you can work with Impossible this year, but you have to sign a four-year contract and you can’t work with them ever again.” It was like, “You can’t just lift my ban and then say that.”
Chestnut may return to the annual contest when his troubled sponsorship ends, according to Major League Eating.
“Some of their negotiations were deceptive, so, you know, I’ll respect their ban and maybe they’ll reconsider their position.”
Chestnut has been taking on the world’s best competitive eaters at Nathan’s since 2005 and hadn’t lost since 2015. In 2021, the Indiana native set the current record of 76 hot dogs in 10 minutes.
His deal with vegetarian sausage maker Impossible Foods will prevent him from winning a record 17th title at Coney Island. The problem, organizers told the New York Post, is Chestnut’s demand that he promote the rival sausage.
Having been a part of the festivities for nearly two decades, Chestnut admitted he will miss the Brooklyn atmosphere this year.
“Those people have been sitting in the sun, waiting,” Chestnut said earlier. “They know what to expect and they’re not surprised. They’re clapping, yelling and pushing me.”
