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Where is Joey Chestnut? Explaining vegan dog drama that led to Nathan’s Hot Dog Contest ban
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The Fourth of July is about spending time at the pool, watching fireworks and eating hot dogs. In the case of the latter, the holiday is also about watching others do the same via the annual tradition of the the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest.
The competition takes place every Independence Day at New York City’s famed Coney Island, which draws in fans from every borough — and from across the nation via ESPN — to see the most American (and the most literally gut-wrenching) sport there is.
Joey Chestnut, a record 16-time winner of the contest, could be considered an American hero for his unprecedented success. But he won’t get a chance to continue his dominance in 2024 after a de facto ban from the competition.
Here’s the beef that went down between Chestnut and Nathan’s in one of the annual Hot Dog Eating Contest’s juiciest controversies.
MORE: Why Joey Chestnut was banned from hot dog eating contest
Where is Joey Chestnut?
In June, Chestnut signed a sponsorship deal with Impossible Foods. The company is known for making plant-based meat alternatives while focusing on “eliminating the need to make food from animals,” according to the company’s website.
However, Major League Eating, the sanctioning board of the contest, banned Chestnut because of his agreement with a rival brand.
“Major League Eating and Nathan’s went to great lengths to accommodate Joey and his management team, agreeing to the appearance fee and allowing Joey to compete in a rival, unbranded hot dog eating contest on Labor Day,” MLE said in a statement, explaining that both are “devastated” Chestnut decided to “represent a rival brand” instead.
The hot dog-eating great took to social media to clarify his perspective on the decision.
(2/3)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.
— Joey Chestnut (@joeyjaws) June 11, 2024
For now, though, the greatest hot dog eater of all time will not defend his title at the biggest contest of the year.
MORE: Full details of Netflix’s Joey Chestnut vs. Takeru Kobayashi hot dog eating contest
Instead, “Jaws” (as he’s known) will be at the Fort Bliss Pop Goes the Fort celebration, a 4 vs. 1 competition with a five-minute time limit, half the time allowed at Nathan’s event. The event will be in Fort Bliss, Texas, an Army base, so Chestnut will celebrate Independence Day by competing against U.S. soldiers.
“Joey Chestnut and his team decided to spend this patriotic day with the soldiers from Fort Bliss,” Lora Diem, special events coordinator at Fort Bliss’ MWR, told El Paso Inc. “It’s very exciting for us. This is the first year he’s not competing at Nathan’s in New York. This is his first opportunity to spend time with active-duty troops.”
The event will kick off the afternoon of July 4th at Briggs Park. It will be broadcast on Chestnut’s YouTube channel, he announced on X, the website formerly known as Twitter.