Bobby Flay has a complex relationship with Food Network that's just crumbled. Let's take a look back at some of the biggest Food Network scandals of Bobby Flay.
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00:00Did you know that before he actually decided to quit Food Network, Bobby Flay tried to
00:05quit on-air during an Iron Chef competition?
00:08And here's the kicker, it was via a t-shirt.
00:12Keep watching to find out more about his biggest scandals.
00:16Flay's departure from the Food Network stunned the food and entertainment industries alike.
00:21Variety broke the story, reporting that negotiations over Flay's contract, which had been set to
00:25expire at the end of 2021, had simply fallen apart.
00:30Neither side commented on the matter, and no other details were given.
00:33It's go time.
00:34Days later, People noted that Flay had demanded $100 million to stay on at the network.
00:40If that sounds outrageous, it's not completely out of the ballpark when compared to the recent
00:45contract that Guy Fieri secured.
00:47At $80 million, Fieri's Food Network contract makes him the current highest-paid chef on
00:52cable TV.
00:53But that ranking apparently didn't sit well with Flay.
00:56Even so, at the end of the day, the two sides just couldn't agree.
01:00Still, a source dished to People,
01:02"...the network decided to move forward without Bobby Flay.
01:06Regardless, it was really much more amicable than you'd think.
01:09It was strictly business."
01:10Although it now appears official that Bobby Flay is, indeed, leaving the Food Network
01:15for real, he's actually bluffed about quitting before.
01:19He even once caused a major scandal by quitting on-air and then not following through, according
01:23to Variety.
01:25During a 2017 taping of Iron Chef Showdown, Flay ended the competition by dramatically
01:30ripping off his chef's coat to reveal a T-shirt that read, quote,
01:33"...this is my last Iron Chef battle ever."
01:37Everyone was baffled.
01:38Was it a practical joke?
01:40A dramatic temper tantrum?
01:42And if Flay was actually quitting, it was certainly news to Food Network execs, who
01:46were reportedly shocked and horrified by the stunt.
01:49Whatever his real motivation, Flay quickly clarified that he wasn't serious, telling
01:54People he was just playing a prank.
01:56Even so, he admits that his attempt at humor went over like a lead balloon, adding,
02:01"...in hindsight, it was probably not the best decision because it's just creating confusion."
02:07Not to mention, it also ticked off his bosses.
02:09He explained via Page Six,
02:11"...the network was not thrilled.
02:13I thought it would be good TV.
02:15They didn't think of it that way, and that's obviously their prerogative.
02:19Food Network said to me, why didn't you tell us?
02:21And I was like, I didn't tell anyone.
02:23That's the whole point, that it's a surprise."
02:26The late chef, TV personality, and writer Anthony Bourdain made no secret of his skepticism
02:31about the talent of certain culinary celebrities.
02:34And Bobby Flay was clearly one of them.
02:37In a 2016 talk at Philly's Academy of Music, Bourdain said,
02:40Beat Bobby Flay actually sounds promising until you realize it's about cooking.
02:45"...bring it on!"
02:46He also made light of what he perceived as Flay's move to sell out to the masses rather
02:50than keep his focus on haute cuisine, adding,
02:53"...Food Network is sending this poor guy all over the country, to trailer parks and
02:57meth labs."
02:58Flay didn't dare try to match Bourdain jab for jab, but the two never did seem to get
03:03past their differences.
03:04Still, when Bourdain died in 2018, Flay spoke of his legacy with respect.
03:10He clarified on Today,
03:11"...we were not close friends at all.
03:13Obviously we knew each other a little bit.
03:15It's very sad.
03:16I was a huge fan of his shows."
03:19Flay and Giada De Laurentiis are Food Network colleagues and close friends, having appeared
03:23together on a number of series and specials, including Beat Bobby Flay, Iron Chef, and
03:28Bobby and Giada in Italy.
03:30"...I love this."
03:32While their on-air chemistry was undeniable, the years-long whispers of an off-air romance
03:37had also been growing rather loud.
03:40At one point, there was even a Reddit thread devoted to speculation that the two were more
03:43than friends.
03:44One user wrote,
03:45"...their sexual tension is earth-shattering."
03:48Many fans of the stars were, to put it mildly, here for it.
03:52The only problem?
03:54Giada was still married at the time.
03:56Although she and her husband Todd Thompson eventually split in 2014, she remained so
04:00bothered by various cheating rumors, including one about Matt Lauer, that she finally issued
04:05a denial.
04:06She said in a statement to Page Six,
04:08"...my longtime friendships with my co-workers Matt Lauer and Bobby Flay are exactly that.
04:14Longtime friendships."
04:15Since then, Flay has gone on to romance Broadway actress Helena York, while People reports
04:20that De Laurentiis has been involved with talk show producer Shane Farley since 2015.
04:26A secret romance isn't the only thing about Flay that's been called into question over
04:29the years.
04:30Perhaps even more upsetting is the fact that both critics and viewers alike have wondered
04:34if Bobby Flay is a cheat, at least when it comes to TV.
04:38Some allege that his competition shows have even been fixed in his favor.
04:43TV Overmind noted that the judging panels on Flay's shows were often suspiciously packed
04:47with his buddies in the food world, and that may have accounted for his impressive winning
04:51streak on Beat Bobby Flay.
04:54Redditors agreed that Flay's victories simply didn't add up, with one commenter noting,
04:58"...somehow he always manages to make a better version of the contestant's signature dish
05:03that they have made a hundred times.
05:05In 30 minutes.
05:07With no advance notice?"
05:08"...you don't know anything about television."
05:10The outcome of Food Network Star also smelled a little fishy to viewers.
05:14She Knows guessed that Food Network had its own reasons for influencing the outcome, favoring
05:19popular contestants over more controversial ones.
05:22And while no hard evidence of fraud has ever emerged, the speculation wasn't exactly a
05:27good look for the network or Flay.
05:30As one Reddit commenter put it,
05:31"...I feel like I can't even trust the competition with the way it is presented."
05:36While Flay has shared the screen with a number of pals over the years, he whipped up an all-new
05:40scandal by making a nemesis out of fellow Chef and Food Network star Masaharu Morimoto.
05:46The former executive chef of Nobu was facing off against Flay on a 2000 episode of Iron
05:51Chef America.
05:52During the course of the showdown, Flay's behavior turned a friendly competition into
05:56a headline-making embarrassment.
05:58"...bring the roof down!"
06:00Before the judges had even reached their verdict, Flay had flippantly declared himself the winner,
06:05Jumping on top of his cutting board, a stunned Morimoto declared to the cameras,
06:09"...Bobby Flay is not a chef.
06:11In my country, the cutting board is sacred."
06:14If that weren't enough, it seemed that Flay's declaration of victory was also premature.
06:19Once they actually got a taste of both chefs' dishes, the judges ultimately declared Morimoto
06:24to be the winner.
06:26Looking back, Flay later explained to The New York Times,
06:28"...It was like I killed Morimoto's mother.
06:31I'd apparently disrespected him.
06:33That's the last thing I wanted."
06:35But it was no big deal.
06:36I'd do worse at a Knicks game.
06:38It appears that Guy Fieri has long been a thorn in Bobby Flay's side.
06:42Not only did Flay want $20 million more than Fieri's reported Food Network contract was
06:47worth, but he also had a list of demands that a source described as, quote,
06:51"...gravely different than just cash," according to People.
06:55Whatever demands Flay may have had, we may never know.
06:58But what we can do is dig into that thing with Fieri a little deeper.
07:02Fans have long suspected that Flay was no fan of the mayor of Flavortown, which might
07:06make sense given their vastly opposing styles.
07:10Flay plays up his image as a sort of culinary ladies' man and top restaurateur.
07:14Meanwhile, Fieri, with his shock of spiked, dyed blonde hair, has made a career out of
07:19going lowbrow.
07:20To the delight of fans, he routinely samples deep-fried dishes dripping in sauce at hole-in-the-wall
07:25joints all over the country on diners, drive-ins, and dives.
07:29"...I don't like to overdo it.
07:31There we are."
07:33Redditors believe that evidence of the chefs' icy relationship abounds, with quite a few
07:38coming out on Fieri's more down-to-earth side.
07:40One user noted,
07:41"...it's a shame.
07:42Guy is genuinely a super nice guy.
07:45Bobby Flay comes off as a bit more pretentious, and my dude, Guy Fieri, is a man of the people."
07:52Getting spotted with a beautiful actress isn't uncharted territory for Flay, but it put his
07:57employers in a very awkward position when he was notably absent from a major company
08:01gathering.
08:02And the situation was made even worse when Flay popped up around the same time with a
08:06Hollywood movie star.
08:08Flay curiously skipped Food Network's Iron Chef Showdown at the 2017 New York City Wine
08:13& Food Festival, an event he would normally be expected to attend.
08:17Instead, Vanity Fair noted that he made time to have dinner with Scarlett Johansson the
08:21same weekend, and in the very same city.
08:24But Johansson's rep went on the record to clarify that the actress and Flay were nothing
08:28more than friends.
08:30It was nonetheless a relationship that Flay seemed to prioritize over his obligation to
08:34Food Network.
08:35Of course, Johansson's not the only famous blonde Flay has been caught with in an embarrassing
08:39scenario.
08:41Eyebrows were raised when he arrived on the scene to help January Jones after the Mad
08:45Men actress crashed her car in 2010.
08:48Flay insisted the two were merely acquaintances, who had met only hours earlier.
08:52Flay's ex-wife, Stephanie March, felt much differently.
08:56She even went so far as to name Jones as one of several women Flay had cheated on her with
09:01during the course of their marriage.
09:03Flay denied any wrongdoings, but rumors persisted, with Flay widely speculated as being the possible
09:08father of Jones' son, who was born in 2011.