Web series Hot Ones follows a simple premise: celebrities must eat increasingly spicier chicken wings while answering personal questions that escalate with every bite.
The competitive series, hosted by YouTuber Sean Evans, features wings dipped in 10 hot sauces—organized from mild to mind-bending—and gives its celebrity guests two options: chicken or plant-based. Guests can also opt for dairy-free milk to manage the spice levels, which are measured in Scoville units.
Complex Networks / First We Feast
Typically the show starts with a sauce that clocks in lower on the Scoville scale (something akin to Sriracha at 1,000 to 2,500 units) and then progresses to mouth-burning sauces that can register at well over 2 million Scoville units.
Since the series first aired, a number of Hot Ones guests have exercised their spice endurance by eating plant-based wings. The offerings here have included a variety of choices such as cauliflower wings and plant-based chicken provided by companies such as the UK’s Temple of Seitan, Daring Foods, and Field Roast.
While choosing the plant-based option is already commendable, it takes a certain type of resolve to get to the 10th level of the challenge. After 23 seasons and more than 270 episodes, here are the 29 icons who made it to “the last dab” while eating vegan wings.
1RZA
Wu-Tang Clan’s RZA—who has been vegan for more than two decades—was the very first Hot Ones guest to choose plant-based wings. He appeared alongside fellow musical artist, Interpol’s Paul Banks, in 2016, an early version of the show featured only five wings and sauces.
Both made it through to the end and had a bit of friendly scuffle about which wings were hotter—vegan or chicken—when dabbed with sauce.
2Paul Rudd
Comedian Paul Rudd’s Hot Ones episode was a memorable one: not only did he get through all 10 wings and sauces but he combined all 10 sauces at the end and dipped a wing into the mixture.
Even more historic? He did it all with vegan cauliflower wings. “I’m actually not a vegetarian but I’m trying to become better,” Rudd told Evans on the show.
3Natalie Portman
Actress Natalie Portman has followed a plant-based diet for years so, naturally, she chose plant-based wings. While Portman was humble about her spice tolerance at the beginning of the show, by the end—and with help from dairy-free milk—the actress proved that she could hang at the highest level.
Portman was on the series to promote Eating Animals, a film she produced and narrated. The documentary, which centered on the evils of factory farming, is based on a book by Jonathan Safran Foer which she credits to helping her go vegan.
4Lilly Singh
A lifelong vegetarian, YouTube personality Lilly Singh is known for her inability to consume spicy food. “I’m the worst Indian person on the planet because I can’t take spice,” Singh said at the start of the show.
Her wings of choice came from Bulan, a Thai restaurant in Los Angeles recommended by Portman—who had a lasting effect on the show.
Singh was feeling the burn by wing number six and was drooling by wing seven. The Canadian native tried to dip a wing into water to lessen the heat, only to make her water spicy.
Although she was clearly struggling, Singh made it through to the last wing—but did not partake in the tradition of adding an extra dab (the “last dab”) of hot sauce to the 10th wing.
5Alexa Chung
Little-known fact: British fashion mogul Alexa Chung was actually an inspiration behind the Hot Ones series, as Evans revealed in her episode of the show.
Chung, a long-time vegetarian, joined her countrymen Russell Brand and Ricky Gervais (a member of the Wall of Shame) in taking on the challenge with plant-based chicken.
Chung did go for the extra spicy “last dab.”
6Jeff Goldblum
For its season six closing episode, Hot Ones tapped actor Jeff Goldblum, who bills himself as an adventurous eater who is careful with spice to preserve his vocal cords.
Before he dug in, Goldbloom asked what kind of meatless wings they’d be having, and this time, they were made from tempeh—meaty fermented soybeans.
While he struggled along the way, the Jurassic Park star made it to the end. He also refused the last dab and took the smallest bite, but nonetheless, Goldblum kept himself out of the Wall of Shame.
7Emma Chamberlain
Portman’s recommendations made yet another appearance on Hot Ones during influencer Emma Chamberlain’s episode, who opted for the meatless wings. She munched on these wings confidently until Da Bomb’s hot sauce nearly stopped her in her tracks.
“I’m not here to play,” Chamberlain said before forging on, through leaking mascara.
Chamberlain, a lifelong vegetarian, also owns an eponymous coffee company under which she collaborates with various vegan brands to make fun items such as DEUX doughnuts and Outstanding cookies.
8Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer
Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer are best known for starring on Broad City. The comedic duo steadily progressed through the Scoville levels, with Jacobson noting that her esophagus was on fire midway through.
Both Jacobson and Glazer chose to eat plant-based cauliflower wings on the show and washed them down with almond milk. They were also provided with blue cheese dip, the dairy content of which is not clear.
9Russell Brand
Evans kicked off this episode with a shout-out to Temple of Seitan for providing the vegan wings for Russell Brand, a controversial British comedian who ditched meat as a teen.
Brand started with Sriracha, a popular but not very spicy sauce, and moved through to the level 10 Mega Death hot sauce—which registers at 550,000 Scoville units.
10Keke Palmer
Actress and singer Keke Palmer “dabbles in the plant-based lifestyle,” as Evans put it, so the duo feasted on Field Roast vegan nuggets back in 2021.
This was Palmer’s second time on the series and, in our opinion, her best appearance because she chose vegan wings and made it to the end like a champ.
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11Zoë Kravitz
While Zoë Kravitz used to be vegan for some time, the actress now eats mostly plant-based for environmental reasons. She explained her choice of meatless wings to Evans on the show.
“I did grow up vegan, I’m not vegan anymore, but I’m trying to be better,” Kravitz said, admitting that she loves the Impossible Burger and wants to freely eat vegan food without any stereotypes.
“I think people should have the McDonald’s experience but with vegan food,” Kravitz said in the episode, which aired in 2020.
12Lenny Kravitz
Zoe Kravitz’s famous father, Lenny Kravitz, also chose meatless wings on his Hot Ones episode three years later in 2023. The music icon, 60, has been following a mostly raw vegan diet since 2016 to help him stay healthy as he ages.
“What are these?” Kravitz said as he took his first bite with the lowest-level sauce. “That’s some weird, um … fake chicken. It’s good.”
He also chased the wings with lemonade because he has an aversion to all milk—dairy or non-dairy.
Kravitz did share something he loves eating, his “Mount Rushmore” of tropical fruits: coconut, soursop, sugar apples, guavas, and mangos.
13Thundercat
A few years ago, musical artist Thundercat ditched animal products and alcohol at the same time, resulting in a 100-pound weight loss. Naturally, the funk musician chose to stick to meatless wings for his appearance on Hot Ones.
“This is everything I dreamt it to be,” Thundercat said about the show’s spicy experience, jokingly adding, “Yeah, I can taste blood … this is great.”
14Weird Al
Song parody icon Weird Al Yankovic has dabbled in plant-based eating and when given the choice on Hot Ones in 2018, he went with the meatless wings.
During the episode, Yankovic did share something weird: a recipe for a hot dog with a Twinkie bun and canned spray cheese. He made sure to mention that a “tofu weiner” would be an acceptable substitute.
After their “macabre vegan lunch,” Evans and Yankovic ended the episode with a duel accordion send-off.
15Kristen Bell
Comedic actress Kristen Bell, a spice-lover who has been vegetarian since childhood, appeared on the show in 2019 with the simple goal of just making it through to the end. This is after her husband, Dax Sheppard, who appeared on the show in 2017, not only put a hefty dab of the hottest sauce on an 11th wing but also did math calculations simultaneously.
The Veronica Mars star held her own, eating each increasingly hotter wing down to the sugar cane stick.
16Vanessa Hudgens
Vanessa Hudgens says she puts Sriracha on everything and her meatless wing journey on Hot Ones was mostly smooth sailing. The first hot-sauce-drenched wing, at 1,400 Scoville units, was “yummy” but not spicy. The pescatarian didn’t even flinch at the second meatless wing.
But when Hudgens got to Da Bomb—a famously disorienting hot sauce clocking in at 135,600 Scoville units—the actress began to flail. “My ears are itchy,” she said as she cautiously bit into the wing.
While Hudgens struggled through the rest of the sauces—going from sweating to hot flashes to chills—she was victorious through the end.
17Pete Holmes
Back in 2016, writer and comedian Pete Holmes took to Twitter to make a joke. “As a vegan, I love animals,” Holmes tweeted. “Especially my high horse.”
Fast-forward to his appearance on Hot Ones in 2018 and it seems that Holmes was still on that horse when he chose to eat plant-based wings instead of chicken.
In addition to making it to the end powered only by plants, Holmes also touted the transformational power of psychedelic plants on his Hot Ones appearance.
18Maisie Williams
Game of Thrones star Maisie Williams is an outspoken animal-rights activist so, of course, her wings of choice were not made from chickens.
Williams opted for cauliflower and four wings in, the actress said she was “going to kill this.”
By wing number six, things took a turn. “They just creep, don’t they,” Williams said, giving into her spice-induced tears, but not before she asked Evans an important question.
“When somebody does cauliflower and oat milk, do you do cauliflower and oat milk?” Williams asked.
In response, Evans pointed to the matching items he was consuming with her to respect the guest’s choices—which he does for every episode.
19Olivia Rodrigo
Olivia Rodrigo was timid to appear on Hot Ones given her low tolerance of spice. The Grammy Award winner was feeling the burn midway through and chugged water between nearly every breath.
Despite a rough time, Rodrigo—who dabbles in meat-free eating—made it through to the end, belting out a yell to celebrate.
20Billie Eilish
Despite being a fan of spicy Takis chips, Billie Eilish was nervous about her Hot Ones appearance. But she persevered and at 17, became the youngest guest to have ever done the show.
Vegan since age 12, Eilish took off her Invisalign retainer before biting into the first meatless wing. Halfway through the show, she pledged to stop drinking water to alleviate the spice—a rule she struggled with but managed to keep.
A few wings later, Eilish ran a lap around the table and used ice cubes to cool down her mouth. Eilish made it through to the end, overcoming the spice and even going back down the line for seconds.
21Anderson Paak
Singer-songwriter Anderson Paak owns vegetarian eatery Olivia Restaurant in Los Angeles and is a fan of plant-based fare. When it was time to take on the gauntlet of chicken wings on Hot Ones, Paak reached for the vegan nuggets.
“That’s fire,” Paak said as he chased the nuggets with almond milk, made by Almond Breeze.
At the Da Bomb level, Paak removed his glasses and got down to business, throwing nuggets into his mouth without hesitation until the end.
During the episode, Paak also explained that he felt conflicted about working with a live zebra on the set of his “Bubblin’” video. After reading comments on the video that critiqued his decision to put the wild animal in a studio, Paak realized the issue from the animal’s perspective and would not choose to do it again.
22Thomas Middleditch
Actor Thomas Middleditch from the HBO series Silicon Valley says he is “medium” with hot food. An “aspiring vegetarian,” the Canadian actor famously sold a viral video to McDonald’s in which he made fun of the chain’s commercials with a satirical rap about its chicken nuggets.
He explained that bit of his history while eating meatless wings on Hot Ones.
23Steve-O
Stephen Gilchrist Glover, known professionally as “Steve-O”, followed a plant-based diet up until 2018 when he dropped the vegan label and reportedly started eating fish. However, for all three of his appearances on Hot Ones—including a holiday special to close out 2023—the stunt comedian chose meatless wings.
Since his first appearance in 2017, Steve-O actually launched his own hot sauce (the name of which we cannot say). He ended his 2021 appearance by both chugging it and pouring it into his eye in a classic Jackass move.
On the show, the comedian also revealed he wanted to open a “low key” sanctuary where he and fiance Lux Wright could grow food and care for rescued animals—which he followed through with last year.
24Lizzo
Lizzo’s love of spicy food is well-documented on social media as is her adherence to a plant-based diet. For her 2022 Hot Ones episode, the musical artist moved through the challenge like a pro, enjoying every last bit of Daring Foods’ plant-based chicken until she hit level eight when things took a spicy turn.
But with the help of a dairy-free milkshake, Lizzo was able to make it all the way through the gauntlet, dropping insights about her musical inspiration and favorite vegan food along the way.
25Florence Pugh
British actress Florence Pugh opted for cauliflower wings on her 2023 Hot Ones appearance. The Midsommar star—who created the pandemic-era cooking show “Cooking with Flo”—discussed the dishes she loves to make with various sauces.
While Pugh regularly consumes animal products, she made it through the end, sweaty and panting from the super spicy cauliflower wings.
26Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Legendary actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus, of Seinfeld fame, also opted for cauliflower wings for her June 2023 Hot Ones appearance.
Somewhere in the middle, Louis-Dreyus began sweating and swearing profusely.
“I’m firing my publicist,” she said half-seriously. “I also want a lawyer. Now.”
27Jenna Ortega
Actress Jenna Ortega was a longtime vegan before adding fish to her diet during the filming of the popular series Wednesday in Romania. However, on her Hot Ones appearance, Ortega chose meatless wings as she braved the hot sauces.
Ortega will be reprising her starring role in the second season of Wednesday which started filming in Ireland this year. Perhaps, Ortega will find more vegan options to try there.
28John Oliver
Late-night television host John Oliver opted for meatless wings as he discussed his odd jobs, random thoughts, and comedic musings on Hot Ones.
While Oliver has never claimed to be vegan, the comedian and social commentator has spoken out about the horrors of factory farming on his show Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.
Perhaps his deep knowledge of the cruelty within the chicken industry is what prompted Oliver to choose plant-based wings on Hot Ones.
29Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton is a world-record-breaking Formula One race car driver and in May 2024, he tested his hand at a new challenge: eating all 10 spicy wings on Hot Ones.
The longtime vegan approached the challenge with calm resolve, a demeanor that is surely a benefit to his line of work. As he moved down the line and settled into the wings and the questions, Hamilton made a poignant suggestion to Evans, who he assumed had eaten at least 30,000 wings during the last 23 seasons of the show.
“You should serve the vegan wings,” Hamilton said between bites, adding “it would save so many chickens.”
And he has a great point. With these 30 celebrities—plus Ricky Gervais, bless him for trying—combined with Evans’ matching wings, that amounts to more than 600 wings that 300 chickens didn’t have to die for.
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Anna Starostinetskaya is the Senior News Editor at VegNews and is always keeping an eye on all things vegan in her home city of San Francisco, CA and everywhere else.
