If there’s one thing more American than watching Joey Chestnut dominate competitive hot dog eating on the 4th of July, it’s listening to two monolith corporations throw shade at each other in what could best be described as, well… a wiener measuring contest. Major League Eating, the organization behind Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest, announced that Chestnut — who’s won the event 16 times overall and every year since 2016 — is disqualified this year for the most delectable of reasons.

It seems Joey Chestnut has made the audacious decision to sign a deal to represent Impossible Foods, a rival vegan brand to Nathan’s. And as shocking as Chestnut’s decision may be to ditch meat in favor of the faux-dogs, the most stunning revelation from all this is that Nathan’s sees Impossible Foods as that much of a rival now.

Major League Eating issued a rather hot-dog-in-cheek statement about the whole thing, explaining “We are devastated to learn that Joey Chestnut has chosen to represent a rival brand that sells plant-based hot dogs rather than competing in the 2024 Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest.”

The MLE, whose logo is a hand proudly brandishing a fork (I kid you not), further lamented that “Joey and his managers have prioritized a new partnership with a different hot dog brand over our long-time relationship.”

Talk about airing your dirty laundry with an ex out in public. Awk-ward.

Major League Eating then walked back the bitterness a tad with a rather thirsty closing comment: “Joey Chestnut is an American hero. We would love nothing more than to have him at the Nathan’s Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest. We hope he returns when he is not representing a rival brand.”

Basically, the door is always open to get back together, Joey. Just because you’ve gone vegan, doesn’t mean you can’t go back. As for whether shoving an absurd amount of processed red meat down your gullet on your country’s independence day constitutes being an “American hero,” that’s probably a question for another day.

The bigger mystery for the here and now has to be this — have Americans finally decided to trade in their favorite encased hodgepodge of mystery meat parts for a vegan alternative? That may be going a little far — but the news that the MVP of competitive eating, Joey Chestnut, is not playing in the Super Bowl of his sport due to his endorsement deal with a vegan meat brand feels almost… impossible.