There are two kinds of people in this world: people who crave spicy food and people who can’t take the heat. Personally, I am a lover of spicy foods and I’ve never been able to explain to others why that is. It’s not like a person who enjoys eating things with a kick versus those who don’t have more resilient taste buds, so I’ve always been curious about how some have developed a liking for mouth burning sustenance over others.
I sound like a masochist when I tell people that I like eating spicy food because it’s a good pain, but that’s really the only way I know how to describe it. There is a sort of satisfaction that comes with consuming almost mouth-numbing fare.
Naturally, I was stoked to find out that there is a talk show of sorts that interviews celebrities while they eat chicken wings with hot sauce of various Scoville levels. The show is called “Hot Ones” by the YouTube channel First We Feast. “Hot Ones” invites famous guests to answer burning questions—pun intended, but there’s also a hitch, usually there are 10 chicken wings and 10 different hot sauces, each one getting hotter than the last.
What I find most entertaining about watching “Hot Ones” is that you get to see all of these well-to-do celebrities lose their cool over the course of the episode, some bear through the pain, while others practically throw tantrums. I’ve devised a list of the best “Hot Ones” interviews in which famous celebs lose their composure.
1. Machine Gun Kelly
Coming in first is the famous rapper and now actor Machine Gun Kelly who appeared in the show’s third episode of the first season. Typically, the star is known for his bad boy behavior, referring to himself as the “Rap Devil,” but as a guest on “Hot Ones,” the “Rap Devil” couldn’t quite endure the heat the way one might expect.
Dressed to the nines and quite literally studded out, Machine Gun Kelly may have lost some of his credibility as being hardcore after only the first few chicken wings.
The performer began his interview with a cocky, can-do attitude that was quickly snuffed out as he started to feel the burn. In the beginning of the episode, Machine Gun Kelly admits that he’s not one for spicy food and it certainly showed, as the only way he could cope with the discomfort was to pace back and forth, cuss and chug down the beer and water that was so generously provided by the host.
2. Eric Andre
If you’re familiar with talk-show host and comedian Eric Andre, then I’m sure you can imagine the on-brand obnoxious display that occurred during his “Hot Ones” segment. Appearing on Episode 20 of the show’s second season, Andre is initially calm and collected, but nearing the end of the interview is when things take an expected turn.
Andre eats the last and hottest wing with a traditional dab of the “Mega Death Sauce” that is said to be spiked with “liquid rage,” and shortly after his first bite is when he starts showing signs of his derangement that is surely induced by the 550,000 Scoville level of heat. Andre subsists the only way he knows how — by yelling in gibberish and smashing glass tableware over his head.
3. Kevin Hart
The well-loved stand-up comedian and actor Kevin Hart put his tongue at risk by coming on as a guest of “Hot Ones” in Episode 32 of Season 2, and it is as funny as you probably imagined.
Hart walked into the segment with his sunglasses and swagger on and seemed to manage the heat through comedic relief, as he squirmed in his chair and eventually removed his shades to reveal watering eyes.
Hart definitely held his own and made it to the end, but had to partly remove some of his clothing to cool down. At one point, Hart joked that the sauce was so hot it was effecting his hearing, and in the last closing minutes of the episode you can’t tell whether Hart is laughing or crying at the amount of heat the final “Hot Ones” wing gives off.
4. Bobby Lee
Another actor and comedian commonly remembered for his time on “Mad TV” is performer Bobby Lee who decided to give “Hot Ones” a chance in Season 2, Episode 35. Lee has always been rather eccentric and at times unpredictable, and his appearance on “Hot Ones” was no different.
The actor was able to take the first few spicy wings in stride, joking that he pees Sriracha hot sauce, but unsurprisingly, the further the interview goes on the hotter the wings get and the more his humor loses traction.
By the time Lee reaches the seventh or so wing is when he succumbs to the hyperventilating and begins to guzzle water. For a moment he completely zones out as he is overcome by the almost coma-inducing fiery liquid. S
peaking of fiery liquid, at the end of Lee’s interview the microphone picks up a watery sounding noise, I’ll leave the rest up to your imagination, but I’m pretty sure Lee leaves the “Hot One” segment with hot ones in his briefs. I’d recommend watching this particular episode with caution if you tend to be squeamish about bodily fluids.
5. Gordon Ramsay
Michelin chef, reputable restauranteur and television personality, Gordon Ramsay brings his palette to the “Hot Ones” table to see if his taste buds can withstand the blazing hot wings in the first episode of the eighth season.
Aside from his success in the food industry, Ramsay is notorious for having quite the potty mouth. When people think of Ramsay, they undoubtedly think of him screaming at the top of his lungs and yelling into the faces of aspiring chefs on his popular show “Hell’s Kitchen.”
Ramsay kicks off the session by arrogantly insulting the consistency and flavor of the chicken wings — all in good fun of course, but the segment quickly moves from fun to frantic. For a solid portion of the interview Ramsay critiques and attempts to describe the flavorful notes in each hot sauce, but to no avail.
Unsurprisingly, as Ramsay reaches the end of the program and bites into the last of the “Hot Ones” hot wings, he begins to question the damage that he’s probably done to his refined taste and immediately reaches for a full bottle of Pepto Bismol in an attempt to salvage what’s left of his blustering mouth.
6. Billie Eilish
In Episode 7, Season 8 on “Hot Ones,” the queen of grunge pop herself artist Billie Eilish gives the scorching wings a shot. The pop-star loses self-control as she begins to spin in her chair to distract herself from the overwhelming heat, but it doesn’t stop there.
She removes layers of clothing to decrease sweating, dips her burning lips into a glass of water and proceeds to run laps around the sets table during the interview. In the end she pulls through, somehow regaining composure and afterwards shows the last “Hot Ones” hot wing who’s boss.
