Joey Chestnut announces comeback at Nathan's 2025 Hot Dog Eating Contest
Joey Chestnut will return to Coney Island for the 2025 Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest this Fourth of July.
The legendary competitive eater announced Monday in a series of posts on X that he will return to the annual event after he was banned from it last year due to his affiliation with Impossible Foods.
"I'm thrilled to be returning to the Nathan's Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest," Chestnut wrote. "This event means the world to me. It's a cherished tradition, a celebration of American culture, and a huge part of my life."
He continued, "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. To be clear: Nathan's is the only hot dog company I've ever worked with."
"I respect that there were differences in interpretation, but I'm grateful we've been able to find common ground," he added. "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! Stay hungry!"
As ABC News reported previously, Nathan's has long required competitive eaters not to endorse a rival brand if they plan to compete in its annual hot dog eating contest.
Chestnut said last year that he was "gutted" over Major League Eating's decision at the time to rule him as ineligible to compete in the 2024 contest, due to his Impossible Foods endorsement.
Chestnut, a 16-time winner who had been competing in the contest for nearly two decades when he was rule ineligible, said on X at the time that he loved "celebrating America with my fans all over this great country on the fourth," and that he had been training to defend his title.
While he wasn't able to compete in last year's Nathan's contest, Chestnut did celebrate the Fourth of July with an independent hot dog eating event in Fort Bliss, Texas. There, he ate 57 hot dogs in five minutes, one shy of Patrick Bertoletti's winning number at Nathan's, where Bertoletti took home his first Mustard Belt for consuming 58 hot dogs in 10 minutes.
