Featured Image Credit: YouTube/First We Feast
Topics: Entertainment, Food and Drink, Celebrity
Jess Hardiman
Topics: Entertainment, Food and Drink, Celebrity
Hot Ones host Sean Evans is evidently in a reflective mood as he splashes out on a multi-million deal to buy his own chat show from BuzzFeed.
The hugely popular YouTube format sees Evans, 38, interview A-list celebs over plates of spicy chicken wings that gradually increase in heat – a combination that leaves many sobbing like babies.
Over the years, it has grown into a global entertainment giant, with First We Feast – the media company behind the show – now boasting 14 million subscribers and more than 4 billion views on YouTube.
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And now the company has reached another historic milestone, after it was sold by BuzzFeed to Evans and First We Feast founder Chris Schonberger... for a cool sum of $82.5 million.
Evans said he was ‘excited to continue hosting the show with hot questions, and even hotter wings for years to come’, while Schonberger added in a statement: "I’m thrilled to lead this next chapter as we continue to push boundaries and create unforgettable experiences for our audience.”
While the pair are clearly proud of the brand they’ve built up, it seems there’s been one major downside for Evans over the years.
In an interview with People, he admitted there’s one thing he will never do when he eventually hangs up his hot sauce.
"When this is all done, I'm never eating another chicken wing in my life!” Evans said.
“You will not see me eating wings at the Super Bowl party or anything like that."
It’s hardly surprising, given just how regularly wings feature in his life – and not just on screen, either.
"I understand how it happens, why it happens,” he started.
“But I go to a restaurant and inevitably somebody will come up and be like, 'This is from the kitchen,' and it'll be their wings."
That said, Evans is still well aware of what wings mean to him, and his career.
"I try not to be too hard on wings because they've obviously changed my life," he explained.
"So, I'm a little tired of eating them after all these years, but I appreciate all that the chicken wing has done for me."
Evans added: "I think part of what's amazing about the whole journey is it comes from bootstraps — like, let's see if we can make this fun idea work.
"We felt like we were being a little naughty in the corner room that nobody was paying attention to, and we'd make this crazy chicken wing interview show."