YouTube has provided the public with some of the highest-quality entertainment out there in the decades since its creation, and for a long time now, much to everyone’s amusement, celebrities have been joining in on the fun. Over the last few years, a slew of segments, sketches, and games have replaced the ordinary press interview with more dynamic interactions, offering actors, singers, and artists of all fields a more pleasurable experience promoting their projects. At the same time, fans get the chance to see their favorite celebs in a more relaxed setting, whether that entails reading funny tweets, playing with puppies, coming up with songs, or eating threateningly spicy wings.
On Hot Ones, First We Feast‘s Sean Evans carries out some incredibly insightful interviews, but with the added twist that his guests will barely manage to get an answer in thanks to the increasing pungency of the chicken wings they must eat throughout. The result is a collection of some of the most hilarious celebrity moments ever, which usually end up as Twitter’s elected meme of the month.
Over the course of 18 seasons, almost every famous person under the sun has tested their Scoville scale limits on this show, so if you enjoy seeing the likes of Tom Holland, Billie Eilish, Millie Bobby Brown, or Gordon Ramsay go a little insane over a particularly hot hot sauce, then keep scrolling, because we bring you some of the most memorable moments on First We Feast’s Hot Ones.
Shaquille O’Neal, “Kansas don’t know how to do no hot wings”
What goes around, comes back around, Shaq! When Basketball legend Shaquille O’Neal had a go at Hot Ones‘ legendary Kansas-made “Da Bomb” hot sauce, his initial dismissal of the state’s quality of hot wings was quickly replaced by a hilarious look of realization as soon as he took a bite.
“I apologize Kansas,” Shaq was quick to add after the sauce wreaked havoc on his taste buds. Some of the Hot Ones funniest moments come from initially confident celebrities slowly realizing their spice threshold might not be as impressive as they once thought.
Millie Bobby Brown flips the finger
A lot of guests on Hot Ones can’t really fathom how presenter Sean Evans, who is also eating the wings as he asks questions, can be so nonchalant about the level of hotness he’s experiencing, so, in this hilarious moment, Stranger Things‘ Millie Bobby Brown couldn’t help but show Evans the finger after taking a bite of the hottest wing in the game.
To her credit, Millie tried her absolute best to push through and answer Evans’ question about her eyewear line, but as the power of “Da Bomb” kept creeping up on her, her composure started to wilt. “Why would you do this to me? I’m only 18, I’m only small,” she commented, before proceeding to judge other famous people’s best eyeglasses looks through gulps of milkshake and numb lips.
Lorde is completely unfazed
For all of the highly entertaining moments of despair over the hottest of wings, seeing some celebrities remain strong throughout the full length of their Hot Ones episode can also be very satisfying. Lorde’s episode has gained legend status due to the singer-songwriter’s superhuman resistance to spice.
While other stars struggled to even breathe after trying the show’s different hot sauces, Lorde was just cruising through those wings, casually commenting on their flavor and frequently going for a second bite. It’s not often that guests are cooler than Sean Evans on his own show, but fans have joked that Lorde’s episode looked like it was hosted by her, and not the other way around.
Gordon Ramsay swears up a storm
Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay’s entire Hot Ones episode deserves a spot on this list. As expected, the British chef brought his naturally charming and foul-mouthed self to First We Feast’s studios to create one of the most chaotic and intense episodes of the show to date.
The challenge drove one of the toughest chefs to drink a full glass of Pepto-Bismol and eat some donuts to try and reduce the burn, but even that didn’t help with Ramsay barely being able to utter a word that wasn’t “sh-t” for about ten minutes. He’s not so intimidating now!
Zac Efron is baffled by Sean Evans’ level of research
Sean Evans and the First We Feast team are famous for really committing to their craft. They dive deep into their guest’s background and try to come up with the most insightful questions, whose contrast with the interviewees’ descent into insanity over the hot sauces makes for brilliant entertainment. You will find moments reminiscent of this Zac Efron exchange all over Hot Ones‘ episodes, but this one takes the cake for wholesomeness.
Efron is impressed with Sean’s level of detail throughout the entire episode, but when he asks the actor a very particular question about the craziest of fans, Zac is so surprised he starts wondering if he’d told the host about this information beforehand. Sean’s response of “This is the first time we’ve met,” really drives the point home that he is one of the best celebrity interviewers.
Idris Elba chokes
Idris Elba is an excellent actor, known for his performances in shows like Luther or movies like The Suicide Squad, but online he’s best known as the guy choking on Hot Ones.
The show’s own self-aware editing of Elba struggling to digest the wing he’s just tasted with intense music and dramatic zoom-ins makes this moment perfect meme material, especially considering that earlier on in the episode Elba was complaining about the lack of a challenge. “I have to tell you, I expected some real competition in these hot wings,” he told Sean. It’s the full-chested coughing that really makes this moment priceless.
The spice is making Aubrey Plaza hear things
One of the funniest moments on Hot Ones has to be that time where right during the most tense moment of the episode, where the wings start to get really aggressive, Aubrey Plaza randomly starts hearing someone play the saxophone. The actress was down to her last nerve after the spice crushed her so hard she had to start snorting milk. “You better stop playing the saxophone, motherf-cker,” she joked.
The level of chaos the actress brings everywhere she goes was the perfect fit for this interview format, with her and Sean’s back-and-forth, constantly interrupted by spice-induced panic making for one of the funniest episodes to date.
Paul Rudd’s iconic “Hey, look at us…”
Hot Ones has been a fertile ground for memes, but none more famous than Paul Rudd’s “Hey, look at us. Who would have thought? Not me!” moment with Sean Evans, which has been reproduced to infinity online.
As the two decided to mix a little bit of every available sauce on top of a single wing the actor feigned nostalgia as he commented on the scene as if it was a proud and emotional moment at the end of a cheesy movie from the ’90s. Sean played along, asking “Who would have thought?” to which Rudd replied, “Not me!” and thus one of the most popular memes of all time was born.
Tom Holland’s no milk test
For some unknown reason, Tom Holland went into Hot Ones with one goal in mind: not touching the milk usually placed on the table to help guests cope. Of course, that didn’t last long as the Spider-Man actor’s resistance to spice wasn’t exactly at Lorde-level, but at least he did better than Gordon Ramsay! Tom struggled pretty much from the very first wing but his dedication to making it through to the end was fantastic to watch.
Other memorable moments from Tom’s episode include him referencing Paul Rudd’s meme and recounting a hilarious fumbled audition for a Star Wars movie.
Elizabeth Olsen is in a New York “Citay” state of mind
A highly underrated moment on Hot Ones is Elizabeth Olsen’s closing speech, wherein guests are supposed to promote the projects they’re working on, but instead Olsen just mellowly describes the current state of her life and how much she’s enjoying being in New York.
Some time later, when Tessa Thompson visited the show, she confessed her Marvel castmate’s episode was her personal favorite. “I feel brave, I feel strong,” Olsen said as she reflected on her journey through the show’s ten hot wings. We’ll have what she’s having!
With over 250 episodes and counting, there’s plenty more material to cover, and some had to be unfortunately left out. Some episodes don’t really have a standout moment, instead being a must-watch in its entirety (Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele’s come to mind), while others have the reputation of being the show’s worst moments (like DJ Khaled tapping out after three wings).
The truth is, anyone tuning in to Hot Ones is almost definitely getting about 30 minutes of fun added to their day, whether due to Sean’s surprising and original questions, the guests completely owning those hot wings, or on the contrary, the wings completely owning them. Whatever it is, the show is now at the peak of its popularity and we hope it stays around for years to come.