Every Friday night on the Food Network, Guy Fieri comes rolling onto our screens in his red Camaro, “looking for America’s greatest diners, drive-ins and dives.” As he travels the country eating a diverse array of food, meeting chefs and greeting customers, he honestly does nothing but bring joy to the world.
Yet, for some stupid reason, some people still hate him.
About a year ago, my brother told me he had a friend who didn’t like Fieri. I asked him why – he didn’t know. She just did. Recently, while watching “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives,” I remembered this. So, I did some digging, and sure enough, there are some really mean-spirited, arbitrary and cruel comments posted online that are directed toward Fieri.
To briefly sum it up, most of the hate is directed toward his upbeat attitude, his choice of clothing and his hair. People also think that he can’t really cook. These people have nothing of substance to actually criticize. They simply, for lack of better words, hate to hate.
And I’m here to end that.
I know it may seem silly. I know it may seem like a waste of time. I know it doesn’t actually seem important. But it’s quite the contrary, actually. It is important. Because I’m sick of all the pointless anger in the world.
Guy is a good guy.
At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Fieri and the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation created the Restaurant Employee Relief Fund. It gave $500 grants to people who were impacted by the changes in the restaurant business during the pandemic. Within two months, the NRAEF and Fieri raised approximately $20 million to help even more restaurant workers.
So, yeah. He’s a really good human. It’s on a daily basis, though – it’s not just during dire times like these. His show, “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives” is a philanthropic work within itself. Many restaurants experience a boom in revenue once they have been visited by Fieri. When Fieri gives his approval, people want to eat what he ate. It’s known as the “Triple-D effect."
I was re-watching the “CBS Sunday Morning” interview Mo Rocca did with Fieri recently. Mentioned in the piece is something comedian Shane Toor said in response to mean comments made about Fieri – and it’s honestly one of the most accurate and beautiful statements that I’ve ever heard:
“He goes around the country to small businesses and gives them free advertising on a national platform on a weekly basis,” Toor said. “But because his hair looks like he was electrocuted while drinking Mountain Dew, people act like we need to saw his head off and put it on the internet.”
Guy Fieri is kind. He's funny. He's a light in the middle of all the darkness, and he’s a philanthropist who genuinely cares about other people.
Quit hating on him. There’s absolutely no point. If you hate him, then I think you’re actually the one who probably needs to reevaluate your morals. Not him.
