'Hero' hot-dog champ reveals how he subdued protester and won Coney Island contest
Joey Chestnut told 'Fox and Friends' how he took down a protester and chomped his way to another wiener win
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Wounded wiener warrior Joey Chestnut reached a new level of all-American fame on Independence Day — and people are still talking about it on Tuesday and likely will be for some time to come.
"He’s a hero," Fox News senior meteorologist Janice Dean said Tuesday morning as she welcomed the holiday hot-dog champ during an appearance on "Fox & Friends."
Chestnut helped save the Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest — a 4th of July spectacle in Coney Island, Brooklyn — when he quickly wrestled a protester to the ground on live national TV.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}JOEY CHESTNUT EAT 63 HOT DOGS, WINS NATHAN'S FAMOUS CONTEST FOR 15TH TIME
He did so even though he's been hobbled by a ruptured tendon and is currently wearing a cast on his right leg.
Chestnut continued to eat hot dogs the entire time on his way to his 15th Nathan’s Famous holiday crown.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Hot dog-eating champ Joey Chestnut helped subdue a protester, as a group interrupted the 2022 Nathan's Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest in Coney Island on July 4, 2022. Chestnut won his 15th title by eating 63 hot dogs in 10 minutes. (Bobby Bank/Getty Images)
Dean was one of the judges. Thousands of sun-soaked revelers cheered on the display of American stomach muscle.
"I thought somebody fell on to me, then I realized he was holding a sign," Chestnut, 38, of Indiana, said during the "Fox & Friends" broadcast.
"He wasn’t moving over, so I kind of moved him over."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"You got him in a headlock!" said co-host Steve Doocy.
"He wasn’t moving over, so I kind of moved him over."
"I didn’t drop any hot dogs," boasted the chomp champ, who was hobbling around on crutches before the competition.
About halfway through the event, protesters rushed the stage — at least one wearing a Darth Vader mask — while carrying signs that read "Expose Smithfield Deathstar."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Smithfield is a major food processing company out of Smithfield, Va., specializing in pork products. Nathan’s Famous is an all-beef frank.
Joey Chestnut won the men's title at Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest at Coney Island on July 4, 2022. (Kerry J. Byrne/Fox News Digital)
Three men were arrested, according to the NYPD: Scott Gilbertson, 21, of Berkeley, Calif., Joshua Marxen, 31, of Santa Clara, Calif., and Robert Yamada, 42, of Phoenix.
The men are being charged with criminal trespass and disorderly conduct. Gilbertson is also being charged with harassment.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"When faced with an unexpected obstacle, Joey handled it swiftly with dignity and aplomb," Rich Shea, president of Major League Eating, told Fox News Digital on Tuesday.
"When faced with an unexpected obstacle, Joey handled it swiftly with dignity and aplomb."
"It proves that Joey Chestnut is the greatest athlete of all time and a true American hero."
Chestnut said his leg injury almost kept him out of the event he’s now dominated for nearly two decades.
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"Three weeks ago I was like, ‘Oh, I don’t know if I’m going to be able to compete,’" Chestnut told "Fox & Friends."
"But the doctor put me in this," he said, referring to the cast around his lower right leg.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I don’t eat with my foot. I just worked through the pain."
A person holds three hot dogs during Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest at Coney Island on July 4, 2022. (Kerry J. Byrne/Fox News Digital)
Chestnut’s July 4, 2022, total of 63 hot dogs and buns consumed was well below the record 76 frankfurters he ate last year.
But it was enough to easily out-munch no. 2 eater Geoffrey Esper of Massachusetts, who downed 47.5 hot dogs and buns.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Chestnut revealed some of the curious mechanics of championship eating. He goes through a two-day lemon juice and water cleanse before the competition — which allows him to eat about 15 pounds and 20,000 calories worth of hot dogs in just 10 minutes.
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"I love ‘em," Chestnut said of the frankfurter. "I have the best life in the world. I get to travel around the world, eat and meet people."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"You're the GOAT," said Dean. "You're the Tom Brady of hot dogs."