Joey Chestnut, the food-eating champion and defending Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July hot dog eating titlist, pleaded guilty in an Indiana court to two counts of battery stemming from an incident in March.
According to court documents, Chestnut, 42, of Westfield, Indiana, was sentenced to serve 180 days of probation, WTHR reported.
The probation means that Chestnut can travel to New York on Independence Day and attempt to win his 18th overall title at the famous hot dog stand on the boardwalk of Coney Island.
“I have no restrictions,’’ Chestnut told USA Today.
BREAKING NEWS
— WTHR.com (@WTHRcom) May 20, 2026
America's most popular competitive eater, Joey Chestnut, is now serving probation after pleading guilty to slapping a man inside of a Westfield bar earlier this year.
HERE'S WHAT HAPPENED: https://t.co/OfqIYpcLXW pic.twitter.com/CnBpO8Lcjd
Chestnut was involved in an incident on March 21 at Joe’s Grille in Westfield, according to the Westfield Police Department.
At about 1 a.m. ET, a man said he was slapped by Chestnut after he encountered the food-eating champ in the bar and attempted to shake his hand, WTHR reported.
During a follow-up investigation, detectives obtained video footage of the incident according to the television station. The footage shows Chestnut pull the victim in while shaking his hand and then “slapping” him.
Police then spoke with Chestnut, who reportedly told investigators that he was “pretty drunk and didn’t remember” what happened, WTHR reported.
According to the documents, police showed Chestnut the video of the incident, and he allegedly responded that the footage “did not look nice.”
Last year, Chestnut returned after a year’s absence to win his 17th title at the Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July hot dog eating contest. He wolfed down 70 1/2 hot dogs and buns to easily top the field.
He holds the world record at Nathan’s, eating 78 hot dogs in 2021.
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