Lifestyle

Joey Chestnut will return to the Coney Island hot dog contest after last year's beef

Published

6 months ago

June 17, 2025

Joey Chestnut will return to the Coney Island hot dog contest after last year's beef

Sixteen-time champion Joey Chestnut poses after his 2021 Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog-Eating Contest victory on Coney Island. He returns to the stage this summer after being banned last year.

Brittainy Newman/AP

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Brittainy Newman/AP

The top dog of competitive hot-dog eating is back.

Joey Chestnut, the 16-time champion of Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest, will return to its Coney Island competition stage this summer, a year after being sidelined by a sponsorship conflict.

“This event means the world to me. It’s a cherished tradition, a celebration of American culture, and a huge part of my life,” Chestnut said in his social media announcement on Monday. “I’m excited to be back on the Coney Island stage, doing what I live to do, and celebrating the Fourth of July with hot dogs in my hands!”

Chestnut has been synonymous with the July 4th event since 2007, when he began his yearslong winning streak.

Joey Chestnut (right) holds a gold belt after winning the Fort Bliss hot dog contest, as the Impossible Foods CEO holds a giant check onstage.

The 41-year-old boasts the 10 highest totals in the event and even earned a Guinness World Record for eating 76 hot dogs in 10 minutes at the 2021 competition. It’s one of 55 world records he holds in competitive eating, having conquered a wide range of delicacies from gumbo to boysenberry pie to a whole turkey.

“Joey Chestnut is the greatest eater in history. That is not empty editorializing or bloviating. That is empirical fact,” says Major League Eating (MLE), the organization that oversees professional competitive eating events (frankly, hot dogs are just the tip of the iceberg).

But in a shocking twist last year, with the storied Coney Island contest less than a month away, MLE banned Chestnut from the stage.

What was the beef?

Chestnut regularly competes in “unbranded” events, such as concessions-eating contests at ballparks in the summer. But in June 2024, MLE accused Chestnut of violating their “basic hot dog exclusivity provisions” by partnering with a “rival brand.”

Chestnut had signed an endorsement deal with Impossible Foods, a company that makes plant-based meat substitutes and had recently launched a marketing campaign targeting carnivorous consumers.

Joey Chestnut holds a trophy and mustard belt after winning the 2022 Nathan's Famous hot dog-eating contest.

He said at the time that he did not have a contract with Nathan’s or MLE, accusing the organizers of “looking to change the rules from past years as it relates to other partners I can work with” and depriving “the great fans of the holiday’s usual joy and entertainment.”

MLE maintained it would welcome Chestnut back when he was not representing a rival company, and apparently rolled back its ban shortly before the contest. But Chestnut said he wouldn’t return without an apology, and went on to stage his own competition at the Fort Bliss Army base in El Paso, Texas.

July 4th was ultimately a sausage split screen: Chicagoan Patrick Bertoletti put away 58 hot dogs in 10 minutes to win his first Nathan’s contest, while Chestnut downed 57 hot dogs in half the time — beating a team of four soldiers, who collectively consumed 49.

Chestnut stayed busy. In September, he faced off against his longtime archrival Takeru Kobayashi — “the Godfather of Competitive Eating” — in a highly anticipated Labor Day rematch streamed on Netflix. He guzzled 83 glizzies (and buns) in 10 minutes, beating Kobayashi as well as his own record.

How did Chestnut’s homecoming happen?

Chestnut acknowledged on social media that there had been “differences in interpretation,” but said he and organizers were able to “find common ground.”

“While I have and continue to partner with a variety of companies, including some in the plant-based space, those relationships were never a conflict with my love for hot dogs,” he wrote. “To be clear: Nathan’s is the only hot dog company I’ve ever worked with.”

MLE confirmed in a statement that Chestnut will once again grace its hallowed stage. Its cofounder and emcee George Shea told NPR that “we were able to come together and I think everybody was interested in that,” though declined to comment on details of the agreement.

“Major League Eating is extremely excited that Joey will be returning to the 4th of July event this year, and it literally will be the greatest sporting event in the history of sports,” Shea said. “We are excited, the fans are excited and it was sort of all systems go for the 4th.”

Joey Chestnut lifts his fist in excitement onstage, in his Unfinished Beef jersey.

Chestnut told the Associated Press that while he never appeared in any commercials for Impossible Foods’ vegan hot dogs, he “should have made that more clear with Nathan’s.”

With the beef behind him, Chestnut now has his eyes on the prize. He told the AP he’s already started prepping for the competition.

In a 2021 Nathan’s video, Chestnut he usually starts training around the end of April, a process that involves multiple practice contests under increasingly real conditions.

“A lot of it’s psychological and mental,” he said. “Your body tells you you’re full, and being able to ignore that feeling of full, that makes it easier to train.”

Shea told NPR that he’s especially excited to see Chestnut face off against Bertoletti, the reigning hot dog (among other foods) champion — and underdog. He ate 58 hot dogs last year, while Chestnut usually averages over 70.

“But word on the street is that Pat has been working, upping his numbers, and that he’s gonna give Joey a run for it,” Shea said. “He does not want to relinquish his title.”

Patrick Bertoletti celebrates winning the men’s title with a score of 58 during the 2024 Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July hot dog eating competition.

Leonardo Munoz/AFP via Getty Images

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Leonardo Munoz/AFP via Getty Images

A quick ketchup on the hot dog-eating contest

Nathan’s Famous claims the hot dog eating contest was born when four immigrants gathered at its original Coney Island stand on July 4, 1916, in a stomach-churning display of patriotism. That myth has been debunked — a publicity agent confessed in 2010 that the company made it up.

Eating contests were a regular feature at July 4th celebrations for decades after the American Revolution, Jason Fagone, the author of Horsemen Of The Esophagus, told NPR in 2023. But Nathan’s changed the game when it held its first recorded contest in 1972, which for many years was seen as a joke even by its largely local contestants.

In the 1990s, brothers Richard and George Shea took over the company’s publicity efforts and grew the contest into a bona fide bonanza, referring to the competitors as athletes and giving them elaborate, hyperbolic introductions.

Miki Sudo (right) and Mayoi Ebihara compete in the women's division of Nathan's Famous Fourth of July hot dog eating contest, Thursday, at Coney Island in the Brooklyn borough of New York. Sudo won by eating a record 51 hot dogs.

The real turning point for the contest came in 2001, when Kobayashi — who rose to fame eating 16 bowls of ramen in an hour on a TV show in his native Japan — first brought his talents to Coney Island.

Using the novel technique of snapping hot dogs in half and dunking buns in water cups, Kobayashi set a new world record of 50 hot dogs in 12 minutes — and putting the sport on the world stage.

“And then after that, everything changed because there started to be real money,” Fagone said.

ESPN started broadcasting the contest live, which it still does today. It attracts competitors from around the globe, started a women’s-only contest in 2011 and awards champions $10,000 each (as well as a yellow and pink mustard belt, respectively).

An estimated 40,000 people attend the event in person, while hundreds of thousands tune in to watch. Shea likens the atmosphere to “a cross between an illegal dog fight and the Super Bowl.”

According to ESPN, the contest drew about one million viewers in 2022 and 2023, but felt Chestnut’s absence last year with just 831,000 viewers, its lowest number in more than a decade.

Lifestyle

‘Selling the OC’ Star Tyler Stanaland Passes on Planned Podcast With Alex Hall

Published

12 minutes ago

December 13, 2025

Press Room

‘Selling the OC’ Star Tyler Stanaland Passes on Planned Podcast With Alex Hall

‘Selling the OC’ Tyler Stanaland
Backs Out of Alex Hall’s Podcast …
Out of Respect for New Relationship

Published
December 13, 2025
4:00 AM PST

Alex Hall from “Selling the OC” extended the olive branch to ex-boyfriend and costar Tyler Stanaland by inviting him on her podcast … but it turned out Tyler canceled last minute out of respect for his blossoming new relationship.

Sources familiar with the situation tell TMZ … Alex tried to hash it out with Tyler one-on-one for all to see … but we’re told he got cold feet at the last minute in light of his new relationship with Hannah Morrissey.

tyler stanaland alex hall getty

Here’s the sitch … Alex asked Tyler to be on her podcast ‘Pretty Dirty’ before Season 4 of “Selling the OC” aired, and we’re told her pitch to him was to sit down publicly and have a conversation about what their “relationship” entails.

If you’re not familiar with the real estate reality drama … Alex and Tyler’s relationship had a lot of muckiness about what really went on between them during the series — and Alex wanted to break it down once and for all, considering fans online have been wondering where their relationship stands today.

Our sources tell us Tyler loved the idea and was down for the appearance with her at first … adding Tyler even said he was excited and thought it would be fun.

However, things took a turn once the latest season aired — and Tyler rescinded his agreement. Alex followed up to lock in a date, and he responded saying after careful consideration, he opted out … because he wants to focus on his current relationship … adding he wanted to keep his chapter with Alex in the past.

Alex Hall Hot Shots

Sources say Alex wasn’t surprised he pulled out of his appearance — this is how he rolls — but she respected his decision to back out, and the two haven’t spoken since.

This news comes after Tyler’s shocking elopement with Hannah. Tyler announced his marriage to her just 6 weeks after the news of their engagement.

We’ve reached out to both Tyler and Alex for comment … so far, no word back.

Lifestyle

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 sweeps The Game Awards — analysis and full winners list

Published

11 hours ago

December 12, 2025

Press Room

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 sweeps The Game Awards — analysis and full winners list

Performers onstage at The Game Awards 2025 at the Peacock Theater on December 11, 2025 in Los Angeles, California.

Frank Micelotta/Picturegroup

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Frank Micelotta/Picturegroup

The first minutes of The Game Awards set the mold for the next three hours. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 won best independent game during the preshow, beating out acclaimed sequels like Hades 2 and Hollow Knight: Silksong. Moments after, the main stage opened with operatic singers and a full orchestra (plus the obligatory electric guitar!) belting out music from the game.

A grid of images showing some of the games we love for 2025.

Clair Obscur was already the favorite to win the grand prize — but kicking off the show with the game front-and-center felt like an anointing. It triumphed in nearly every category it competed in, picking up nine awards in total. By the time it won “Game of the Year,” Clair Obscur had surpassed The Last of Us: Part 2 to become the most decorated game in the Awards history.

As predictable as the night became, the game it honored was anything but. Clair Obscur came from an independent French studio composed of developers who had worked for the French gaming behemoth Ubisoft. Instead of chasing trendy genres like battle royales or open-world action games, Clair Obscur drew inspiration from turn-based role-playing games like the classic Final Fantasy titles. It paired an intimate and existential story with a setting that was both whimsical and epic. And it cast motion-capture icon Andy Serkis alongside game actor veterans like Ben Starr and Jennifer English, who delivered the night’s most rousing speech when she accepted the award for best performance.

“I just want to say to every neurodivergent person watching in this room, because I know there’s probably quite a lot of you,” English said. “To all of you that feel like life is stuck on hard mode, this is for you, and thank you so much to the games community and industry for giving us, so many of us, a home.”

Jennifer English, also known for her leading role in 2023 Game of the Year winner Baldur’s Gate 3, accepts her best performance award onstage at the Peacock Theater on December 11, 2025.

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Clair Obscur’s victories fit with two themes of the night: the rise of independent studios and the internationalization of the awards themselves. Half of the “Game of the Year” nominees were indie games, even as the term has stretched to include titles with sizable budgets and publisher partnerships.

This semantic squishiness is a result of The Game Awards’ outsourced voting process, which polls over 150 international media outlets (including NPR) to determine a list of nominees. These outlets decide for themselves how to define categories like an “independent game” or “action adventure game.” After the shortlist is tallied, they’ll pick their favorites in each category, which are weighted against an open online voting system that makes up a 10th of the total score. As the jury has expanded outside of the U.S., which now only represents roughly 15% of outlets, award winners have become both more global and more mainstream.

Still, Clair Obscur’s ubiquity speaks volumes. Even as it swept other deserving indies aside, the game demonstrates the outsized impact a small team can have on the broader market. No longer seen as just a niche, prestige title, Clair Obscur rose to prominence thanks to strong word-of-mouth and its inclusion on the Xbox Game Pass Service, which allowed regular gamers and critics alike to try the game out without committing to a full purchase.

Guillaume Broche, Tom Guillermin, Nicholas Maxon-Framcombe, and François Meurisse accept the Game of the Year award for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.

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Frank Micelotta/Picturegroup

Big companies still took home prizes, however. After being completely shut out last year, Nintendo earned a few awards for Switch 2 exclusives, with Donkey Kong Bananza winning best family and Mario Kart World winning best sports/racing. Grand Theft Auto 6 won most anticipated game for the second year in a row. Wuthering Waves, a Chinese game with a huge mobile audience, won the Players’ Voice award, the only category completely determined by public online votes.

Here are the full nominees and winners for the 2025 Game Awards (winners in bold):

Game of the year

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive/Kepler Interactive)
Death Stranding 2: On The Beach (Kojima Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Donkey Kong Bananza (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
Hades II (Supergiant Games)
Hollow Knight: Silksong (Team Cherry)
Kingdom Come: Deliverance II (Warhorse Studios/Deep Silver)

Best game direction

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive/Kepler Interactive)
Death Stranding 2: On The Beach (Kojima Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Ghost of Yōtei (Sucker Punch Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Hades II (Supergiant Games)
Split Fiction (Hazelight Studios/EA)

Best narrative

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive/Kepler Interactive)
Death Stranding 2: On The Beach (Kojima Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Ghost of Yōtei (Sucker Punch Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Kingdom Come: Deliverance II (Warhorse Studios/Deep Silver)
Silent Hill f (NeoBards Entertainment/KONAMI)

Best art direction

Best score and music, leveled up by Spotify

Christopher Larkin, Hollow Knight: Silksong
Lorien Testard, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Darren Korb, Hades II
Toma Otowa, Ghost of Yōtei
Woodkid and Ludvig Forssell, Death Stranding 2: On The Beach

Best audio design

Battlefield 6 (Battlefield Studios/EA)
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive/Kepler Interactive)
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach (Kojima Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Ghost of Yōtei (Sucker Punch Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Silent Hill f (NeoBards Entertainment/KONAMI)

Best performance

Ben Starr, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Charlie Cox, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Erika Ishii, Ghost of Yōtei
Jennifer English, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Konatsu Kato, Silent Hill f
Troy Baker, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle

Innovation in accessibility

Assassin’s Creed Shadows (Ubisoft)
Atomfall (Rebellion)
Doom: The Dark Ages (id Software/Bethesda Softworks)
EA Sports FC 26 (EA Canada/EA Romania/EA)
South of Midnight (Compulsion Games/Xbox Game Studios)

Games for impact

Consume Me (Jenny Jiao Hsia/AP Thomson/Hexacutable)
Despelote (Julián Cordero/Sebastián Valbuena/Panic)
Lost Records: Bloom & Rage (Don’t Nod Montreal/Don’t Nod)
South of Midnight (Compulsion Games/Xbox Game Studios)
Wanderstop (Ivy Road/Annapurna Interactive)

Best ongoing

Final Fantasy XIV (Square Enix)
Fortnite (Epic Games)
Helldivers 2 (Arrowhead Game Studios/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Marvel Rivals (NetEase Games)
No Man’s Sky (Hello Games)

Best community support

Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios)
Final Fantasy XIV (Square Enix)
Fortnite (Epic Games)
Helldivers 2 (Arrowhead Game Studios/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
No Man’s Sky (Hello Games)

Best independent game

Absolum (Guard Crush Games/Supamonks/Dotemu)
Ball x Pit (Kenny Sun/Devolver Digital)
Blue Prince (Dogubomb/Raw Fury)
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive/Kepler Interactive)
Hades II (Supergiant Games)
Hollow Knight: Silksong (Team Cherry)

Best debut indie game

Blue Prince (Dogubomb/Raw Fury)
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive/Kepler Interactive)
Despelote (Julián Cordero/Sebastián Valbuena/Panic)
Dispatch (AdHoc Studio)
Megabonk (Vedinad)

Best mobile game

Destiny: Rising (NetEase Games)
Persona 5: The Phantom X (Black Wings Game Studio/Sega)
Sonic Rumble (Rovio Entertainment/Sega)
Umamusume: Pretty Derby (Cygames Inc.)
Wuthering Waves (Kuro Games)

Best VR/AR

Alien: Rogue Incursion (Survios)
Arken Age (VitruviusVR)
Ghost Town (Fireproof Games)
Marvel’s Deadpool VR (Twisted Pixel Games/Oculus Studios)
The Midnight Walk (MoonHood/Fast Travel Games)

Best action

Battlefield 6 (Battlefield Studios/EA)
Doom: The Dark Ages (id Software/Bethesda Softworks)
Hades II (Supergiant Games)
Ninja Gaiden 4 (Platinum Games/Team Ninja/Xbox Game Studios)
Shinobi: Art of Vengeance (Lizardcube/Sega)

Best action/adventure

Death Stranding 2: On the Beach (Kojima Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Ghost of Yōtei (Sucker Punch Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle (MachineGames/Bethesda Softworks)
Hollow Knight: Silksong (Team Cherry)
Split Fiction (Hazelight Studios/EA)

Best RPG

Avowed (Obsidian Entertainment/Xbox Game Studios)
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive/Kepler Interactive)
Kingdom Come: Deliverance II (Warhorse Studios/Deep SIlver)
The Outer Worlds 2 (Obsidian Entertainment/Xbox Game Studios)
Monster Hunter Wilds (Capcom)

Best fighting

2XKO (Riot Games)
Capcom Fighting Collection 2 (Capcom)
Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves (SNK Corporation)
Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection (Digital Eclipse/Atari)
Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. World Stage (Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio/Sega)

Best family

Donkey Kong Bananza (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
LEGO Party! (SMG Studio/Fictions)
LEGO Voyagers (Light Brick Studios/Annapurna Interactive)
Mario Kart World (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds (Sonic Team/Sega)
Split Fiction (Hazelight Studios/EA)

Best Sim/Strategy

The Alters (11 Bit Studios)
FINAL FANTASY TACTICS – The Ivalice Chronicles (Square Enix)
Jurassic World Evolution 3 (Frontier Developments)
Sid Meier’s Civilization VII (Firaxis Games/2K)
Tempest Rising (Slipgate Ironworks/3D Realms)
Two Point Museum (Two Point Studios/Sega)

Best sports/racing

EA Sports FC 26 (EA Canada/EA Romania/EA)
F1 25 (Codemasters/EA)
Mario Kart World (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
Rematch (Sloclap/Kepler Interactive)
Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds (Sonic Team/Sega)

Best multiplayer

Arc Raiders (Embark Studios)
Battlefield 6 (Electronic Arts)
Elden Ring Nightreign (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco Entertainment)
Peak (Aggro Crab/Landfall)
Split Fiction (Hazelight/EA)

Best adaptation

A Minecraft Movie (Legendary Pictures/Mojang/Warner Bros)
Devil May Cry (Studio Mir/Capcom/Netflix)
The Last of Us: Season 2 (HBO/PlayStation Productions)
Splinter Cell: Deathwatch (FOST Studio/Ubisoft/Netflix)
Until Dawn (Screen Gems/PlayStation Productions)

Most anticipated game

007 First Light (IO Interactive)
Grand Theft Auto VI (Rockstar Games)
Marvel’s Wolverine (Insomniac Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Resident Evil Requiem (Capcom)
The Witcher IV (CD Projekt Red)

Content creator of the year

Caedrel
Kai Cenat
MoistCr1TiKaL
Sakura Miko
The Burnt Peanut

Best Esports game

Counter-Strike 2 (Valve)
DOTA 2 (Valve)
League of Legends (Riot)
Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (Moonton)
Valorant (Riot)

Best Esports athlete

brawk – Brock Somerhalder (Valorant)
Chovy – Jeong Ji-hoon (League of Legends)
f0rsakeN – Jason Susanto (Valorant)
Kakeru – Kakeru Watanabe (Street Fighter)
MenaRD – Saul Leonardo (Street Fighter)
Zyw0o – Mathieu Herbaut (Counter-Strike 2)

Best Esports team

Gen.G – League of Legends
NRG – Valorant
Team Falcons – DOTA 2
Team Liquid PH – Mobile Legends: Bang Bang
Team Vitality – Counter-Strike 2

Players’ voice

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive/Kepler Interactive)
Dispatch (AdHoc Studio)
Genshin Impact (HoYoverse)
Hollow Knight: Silksong (Team Cherry)
Wuthering Waves (Kuro Games)

Lifestyle

The Collaborative Vision Behind IED’s Graduate Fashion Shows

Published

12 hours ago

December 12, 2025

Press Room

The Collaborative Vision Behind IED’s Graduate Fashion Shows

During Milan Fashion Week, the arts and design school staged a multi-sensory fashion show at a contemporary art gallery — a product of collaboration between performance artists, models and fashion design students. BoF sits down with IED Milano’s director to learn more.