The Real Reason Guy Fieri Wasn't A Fan Of Anthony Bourdain
From the land of loud shirts, louder hair, and loudest attitude, it's Guy Fieri! The Food Network mainstay has made a name for himself by targeting the kind of delicious roadside cafe fare that will make the Heartland weep tears of joy and your actual heart weep for a whole host of other reasons. Because of his in-your-face look and cartoonish on-air personality, Fieri can be a fairly easy target, like the infamous New York Times review of his Guy's American Kitchen & Bar readily and lengthily attested. However, there are also other sides to the man. In fact, he's become something of a food industry hero during the pandemic, lending his powerful voice to his comparatively voiceless peers.
The Mayor of Flavortown has a personal style that might easily draw some people's ire and mockery, but as he has told People, Fieri prefers to focus on the good things. For instance, he was so impressed by Bobby Moynihan's Guy Fieri impression on "Saturday Night Live" that he not only befriended Moynihan but actually got the comedian to reprise the role for his son's birthday video. However, there's one fellow food-themed celebrity that Fieri demonstrably doesn't care for. Let's take a look at the real reason Guy Fieri wasn't a fan of Anthony Bourdain.
Anthony Bourdain seriously disrespected Guy Fieri
Anthony Bourdain was rather notorious for the way he couldn't stand Guy Fieri. A dislike may or may not have existed since time immemorial on a low-key basis, and Thrillist notes that Bourdain had been picking on Fieri since 2008 or thereabouts. However, arguably the biggest bomb was dropped in 2012, when Bourdain made the following comments in a radio interview, regarding Guy's American Kitchen & Bar (via Eater): "I'm fascinated by the Guy Fieri terror-dome they just opened up. [...] First of all, he single handedly turned the neighborhood into the Ed Hardy district which I'm a little p***ed off about."
He went on to lambast Fieri on his pricing, saying it was more than a tad too high for a man known for eating uncostly fare. "But all of these poor b******s see him eating cheap food on TV, they go in there and it's, what, $18? For a f******g hamburger? The french fries are like $12? By the time you buy a drink you're out of there for what?"
Fieri fires back
Guy Fieri seems to have seen Anthony Bourdain's comments as fighting words (which, to be fair, they kind of were) and eventually countered on GQ. "I don't like him making fun of people, and I don't like him talking s***," he said. "I know he's definitely gotta have issues, 'cos the average person doesn't behave that way." He also wondered precisely why Bourdain decided to target him. "It's just, What are you doing? What is your instigation? You have nothing else to f***ing worry about than if I have bleached hair or not? I mean, f***."
Of course, it must be noted that regardless of his "wait, why?" attitude, Fieri may have gotten in the better jabs of the two when he took part in the roast of Anthony Bourdain in 2012 (per Thrillist). During his time on the mic, Fieri compared Bourdain to a "piñata full of s**t," rattled off a long list of terrible insults other people have directed at the roastee, and even referenced Bourdain's ex-addict status: "Anthony, I gotta ask a question, why do you hate me so much, brother? ... Is it because you went to a fancy culinary school and I didn't? I hear you're the only one in class who did most of his cooking with a spoon and a Bic lighter."