America’s most popular competitive eater pleaded guilty to two counts of battery stemming from an incident at a bar in March.
INDIANAPOLIS — America’s most popular competitive eater is now serving probation after an incident earlier this year in Hamilton County, Indiana.
Joseph Chestnut, commonly referred to as Joey Chestnut, pleaded guilty to two counts of battery stemming from an incident in March, WTHR reports.
According to official court documents, Chestnut was sentenced to serve 180 days of probation.
According to documents, the victim told police Chestnut hit him across the face with an open hand after the two exchanged a handshake at a bar in the early morning hours of March 21.
A probable cause affidavit revealed the man had noticed Chestnut due to his celebrity status and began to speak with him. The man says as he reached out to shake Chestnut’s hand, he was slapped in the face. Shortly after the slap, court documents reveal Chestnut made statements saying “everything is okay” and “nothing happened.”
Both the victim and another man with him then left the bar.
During a follow-up investigation from the Westfield Police Department, detectives obtained video footage of the incident. According to official court documents, the footage shows Chestnut pull the victim in while shaking his hand and then “slapping” him.
On March 22, police continued their investigation as they spoke with Chestnut, who initially asked what had happened and was “seemingly unaware of the situation.” While speaking with police, he said he was “pretty drunk and didn’t remember” much of the situation but did know he walked home from the bar when it closed.
According to the documents, police showed Chestnut the video of the incident, to which he responded “that did not look nice.”
Will Joey Chestnut be able to compete in the 2026 Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest?
Chestnut, who last year claimed his 17th victory in the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest after a one-year absence, will be on probation during the July 4th weekend event in New York City. He told USA TODAY Sports that he has no travel restrictions which would stop him from defending his hot dog eating title on Coney Island.
In a statement to US Weekly, Chestnut’s team said: “Joey regrets engaging and the interaction being misinterpreted. He strives to always connect in a fun manner with fans. In this case, some inappropriate things were said that Joey reacted to. He’s committed to avoiding being in those situations going forward.”