Sean Evans, the host of beloved YouTube celebrity interview show Hot Ones, has revealed a heartbreaking truth now that he’s made a deal to buy his own show.
Evans, who I’m sure you’ve seen munching on spicy wings at least once or twice, co-created the YouTube show in 2015 with Chris Schonberger.
But now that he and a number of private investors signed a $82,500,000 deal to buy YouTube channel First We Feast, which runs Hot Ones, from BuzzFeed, he’s telling some home truths about his career.
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Essentially, Evans built his platform on hosting interviews with celebrities at a table with plates of spicy chicken wings on it that progressively get hotter.
Then, they’d see how the celebs were able to answer the questions when battling the heat and tears.
He’s had chats with the likes of Harry Kane and Sydney Sweeney, Ryan Reynolds and Lorde.
But now that Evans and Schonberger have bought First We Feast, the entertainment company behind it, means that the pair get to branch off to new avenues.
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In a statement, Schonberger said: “I’m thrilled to lead this next chapter as we continue to push boundaries and create unforgettable experiences for our audience.”
While Evans is ‘excited to continue hosting the show with hot questions, and even hotter wings for years to come’, he went on to tell People that there’s something that the show cost him.
In an interview with People, the content creator admitted that there is one major downside to his success.
He said: “When this is all done, I’m never eating another chicken wing in my life!
“You will not see me eating wings at the Super Bowl party or anything like that.”
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He said: “I understand how it happens, why it happens.
“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.”
However, he knows that the wings gave him his career and explained: “I try not to be too hard on wings because they've obviously changed my life.”
Evans added: “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.”
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“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.”
Evans purchased Hot Ones from BuzzFeed for an eye-watering $82,500,000, with the hopes of creating a whole new content stream.
In a statement following the purchase, Evans claimed: "The future is spicy, and I can't wait to see what's next."
The new investment into the company will let First We Feast ‘expand into new areas [...] including new platforms, live events, and talent acquisitions.’
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Whether this means that they’ll be expanding into other areas or incorporating other ideas is unknown.
But what we do know is Sean will be eating a fair few more chicken wings.
Topics: YouTube, Entertainment, Celebrity
Britt Jones