- Competitive eating champion Joey Chestnut excluded from iconic July 4th eating competition
- Dispute is over promoting a rival wiener brand
- Chestnut has won the title on 16 occasions
Big news from the world of competitive eating – the 16-time Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest is out of this year’s edition due to a beef over wieners.
Joey Chestnut has become a legend at the contest, held at Nathan’s in Coney Island, New York, every July. He has won the competition every year since 2016 but will be absent from the forthcoming competition as he is representing a different brand of wieners.
Chestnut has apparently signed a deal with Impossible Foods, which makes meatless versions of foods such as wieners.
This puts him in direct competition with the brand used by Nathan’s, and, despite the best efforts of Major League Eating (MLE), which sanctions the event, no resolution could be found, so Chestnut will be absent this year.
MLE said in a statement: “We are devastated to learn that Joey Chestnut has chosen to represent a rival brand that sells plant-based hot dogs rather than competing in the 2024 Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest.
“MLE and Nathan’s went to great lengths in recent months 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.
“For nearly two decades we have worked under the same basic hot dog exclusivity provisions. However, it seems that Joey and his managers have prioritized a new partnership with a different brand over our long-time relationship.”
