Amid the age of the internet and social media, celebrity press tours have evolved into a spectacle of-sorts. There’s the gaudy fashion: celebrities donning an array of outfits (maybe even 256, à la Blake Lively) at media junkets, talk show appearances and meet-and-greets. There’s also the chicken.
Prior to the onset of the SAG-AFTRA strike, Jennifer Lawrence sat down with Sean Evans, host of the popular YouTube talk show “Hot Ones,” to promote her latest film “No Hard Feelings” over spicy chicken wings. Eight days later, Lawrence made an appearance on Amelia Dimoldenberg’s YouTube series “Chicken Shop Date,” where she indulged in chicken nuggets, crisps and soda.
Noshing on chicken — fried, deboned, breaded or battered — has become a newfound way for A-listers to attain good press and tout their latest (and upcoming) projects. On Thursday, Sydney Sweeney, who recently starred in the rom-com “Anyone but You” and will star in Marvel’s upcoming “Madame Web,” sat down with Evans in the season 23 premiere of “Hot Ones.” Same with Mark Ruffalo, who enjoyed meatless nuggets just one day before the premiere of Yorgos Lanthimos’ Oscar-nominated film “Poor Things,” and Sterling K. Brown, who made his appearance following the premiere of Cord Jefferson’s Oscar-nominated film “American Fiction.” Oh, and there’s Paul Mescal, who recently starred in the queer romantic fantasy film “All of Us Strangers” and went on a chicken shop date with Dimoldenberg on Friday.
Food is a key star in both “Hot Ones” and “Chicken Shop Date.” The former features celebrities being interviewed by Evans while enjoying a platter of increasingly spicy chicken wings. The hot sauces range anywhere from 700 Scoville units to a whopping 2,000,000+ Scoville units and their lineup varies from season to season. As for “Chicken Shop Date,” the online series first began with Dimoldenberg interviewing grime artists over greasy chicken and deep fried spuds before doing the same with Hollywood celebrities. Each interview is framed as a first date and takes place in a London-based chicken shop, a location that Dimoldenberg said is “somewhere you wouldn't usually go on a date.”
“Hot Ones” and “Chicken Shop Date” draw inspiration from quirky interview shows of the past, like Alexa Chung's “Popworld” and Zach Galifianakis’ brash yet comical “Between Two Ferns.” But unlike their successors, both shows have managed to incorporate food as a clever ice-breaker. There’s the age-old expression “breaking bread together,” meaning people share a sense of brotherhood/sisterhood with those they share a meal with. Sitting down to eat (or solely indulge in chicken) with another individual is a bonding moment in itself. “Food is about bringing something into the body. And to eat the same food suggests that we are both willing to bring the same thing into our bodies,” Ayelet Fishbach, professor of behavioral science and marketing at the University of Chicago, told NPR. “People just feel closer to people who are eating the same food as they do.” Indeed that’s the beauty of both “Hot Ones” and “Chicken Shop Date,” where food and its interviewees are both humanized. Coupled with Evans’ down-to-earth spirit and Dimoldenberg’s deadpan humor, each interview feels akin to a casual conversation shared between friends or, yes, a first date. It’s charming, sometimes awkward but mainly a ton of wholesome fun.
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Within celebrity culture, food continues to exist as a gag and a villainous entity. Take for example James Corden’s “Spill Your Guts or Fill Your Guts” segment, a food-centric rendition of truth-or-dare where celebrity guests must either answer a high-stakes question or eat a “disgusting” food on Corden’s “The Late Late Show.” The segment was blasted for being insensitive toward Asian cultures after Corden implied that certain foods, like thousand-year-old egg, balut and cow tongue, are “gross.” Corden later addressed the controversy, saying his show would keep the segment but adjust the foods used. Regardless, food is still utilized for voyeuristic pleasure. Not only are viewers watching boldface names eat, they’re also watching them eat foods that are considered distasteful — which goes against the prim and proper image that celebrities are expected to uphold.
There’s also the issue of diet culture, a perennial specter, especially as more celebrities have hopped on the Ozempic craze. In the past few years, a handful of celebrities have spoken in favor of restrictive eating, extreme calorie counting weight loss: Gwyneth Paltrow said her daily “wellness” routine involves fasting until midday, bone broth, and a light paleo dinner; Chris Martin said he only eats one meal a day to look more "in shape," like Bruce Springsteen; and Rebel Wilson said she ate 600 calories a day for “detox purposes.”
Watching celebrities eat chicken wings — which are known to be incredibly messy — is the direct opposite of what we expect to see from celebrities. It’s why “Hot Ones” and “Chicken Shop Date” feel so familiar and, frankly, normal. In both shows, humans are simply being humans: enjoying good company over equally good food.
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"First We Feast," the online food-culture magazine behind “Hot Ones,” currently touts more than 13 million subscribers and over 2 billion views across social media. On YouTube, Dimoldenberg has more than 2 million subscribers and her show has nearly 1.5 million followers on TikTok. Both “Hot Ones” and “Chicken Shop Date” have also enjoyed their fair share of viral clips on social media. There’s the meme of Shaquille O'Neal, which was taken from a clip of his “Hot Ones” appearance and is now used as a humorous reaction image. An audio of Jennifer Lawrence repeatedly asking “what do you mean?” during her “Hot Ones” episode remains a viral sound on TikTok.
Of course, praise must also be awarded to Evans’ and Dimoldenberg’s impeccable style of interviewing. After years of hosting their individual programs, Evans and Dimoldenberg finally appeared on each others’ shows in what they described as “maybe the greatest crossover of all time.”
“Marvel, I don’t think, has anything on us,” Dimoldenberg told Evans when he appeared in an episode of “Chicken Shop Date.”
Indeed they don’t.
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