Joey Chestnut will participate in 2026 Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest after pleading guilty to battery in May
This July 4, Americans can rest easy knowing that the one thing they love doing more than anything else on the holiday will still go on as planned. That one thing: Watching one man shove as many hot dogs and buns down his gullet before time expires.
Joey Chestnut will officially participate in the 2026 Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest, the promotion announced Thursday. He'll look to win the event for the 18th time, and potentially break his own record of 76 hot dogs consumed.
Chestnut's participation in the event wasn't really in question, though the competitive-eating legend did deal with a legal situation earlier in the year. In May, Chestnut pleaded guilty to misdemeanor battery after slapping a fan at a bar in April. Chestnut admitted to police that he was "pretty drunk" at the time of the incident and didn't remember it. Upon seeing it, Chestnut said he thought it "looked like a joke." The patron who was slapped disagreed, leading to the charge.
Chestnut's legal team said Chestnut regretted the action and was "committed to avoiding being in those situations going forward."
As a result of pleading guilty, Chestnut was placed on 180 days of probation. He will still be on probation when he takes part in the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest this July 4.
Shortly after Chestnut's guilty plea, Nathan's said he would not be punished for the incident. In a statement, the company said Chestnut's charge had "nothing to do with Nathan's," per Front Office Sports.
"Joey is not going to be penalized or barred from participating in this year's Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest," a Nathan's spokesperson told Front Office Sports. "This incident has nothing to do with Nathan's."
Chestnut has experienced an unprecedented run of success at the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest over his competitive-eating career. In addition to already winning the event 17 times, he's won it in nine of the last 10 years, with his only non-win coming because he was banned due to a disagreement with Nathan's over a sponsorship deal.
