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Willem Dafoe appeared to eat vegan chicken nuggets on an episode of Hot Ones.
The celebrated actor does not follow a vegan diet, but has also said that he does not eat meat. He previously referred to himself as “basically” vegetarian.
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Hot Ones is a YouTube show hosted by Sean Evans, who interviews celebrities as they try 10 rounds of increasingly spicy wings. During his appearance, Dafoe makes it to the end of the challenge and even describes the final hot sauce as his favorite.
The plant-based nuggets on Hot Ones are visually distinct from the animal-based chicken wings eaten by other guests. Dafoe, a four-time Academy Award-nominated actor, also mentioned to Evans that he “used to eat meat” during an anecdote.
While trying a Thai chilli miso-flavored hot sauce, Dafoe says, “You know, one of the best meals I ever had was in Thailand. In those days I used to eat meat, and it was very, very spicy, so spicy that I felt a little ache in my belly, but it tasted so good.”
‘I’m basically a vegetarian’
In 2024, Dafoe told the Guardian that he keeps “lots of animals” on a small farm outside Rome. He said, “I’m basically a vegetarian, so I do it just for the pleasure of their company and to try to give them a good life, which is a little naive.”
During his conversation with the Guardian, Dafoe also referred to his animals as the “other people” on the farm. He discussed how different animals have different personalities, including sheep, goats, and in particular, alpacas.
Dafoe, who has appeared in more than 150 films during his career, stars in Tenzing, which is expected to arrive on Apple TV in October, and Robert Eggers’ much-anticipated Werwulf, which comes to UK theatres on January 1, 2027.
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Vegan chicken on ‘Hot Ones’
Dafoe is not the first Hot Ones guest to choose a plant-based alternative.
In an episode of “Hot Ones Versus” from September, Aaron Pierre ate vegan chicken nuggets while his Lanterns co-star opted for traditional wings. While Pierre himself is not vegan, the character he plays in the show, John Stewart, is.
Last year, Winona Ryder appeared on Hot Ones and opted for tofu nuggets, and back in 2022, Lizzo, who was plant-based at the time, chose to eat vegan chicken.
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