It was a food fight!
Animal-rights activists doused an eater in fake blood and got in a scuffle with another during the Nathan’s hot-dog–eating contest on July 4.
Hot-dog-hating vegans from Direct Action Everywhere climbed up on stage and threw the goo on Dan “Big Cat” Katz and Crazy Legs Conti about two minutes into the annual gorge-a-thon. Katz, who ate just 12 of the meaty treats, predicted he could have exceeded champion Joey Chesnut’s record-breaking 70 had the animal liberation lobby not tossed the unconventional topping his way.
“Probably would have hit 80 Hot Dogs without that lost time,” Katz tweeted after.
Police arrested three and are charging them with criminal mischief, harassment, and inciting a riot, officials said.
One attacker decried the carnivorous carnival in a press release issued afterward.
“This grotesque event takes a day of celebration and turns it into a festival of violence and gore for animals no different than our dogs and cats,” said Rachel Zeigler, a member of the cuffed trio.
Competitive eater Conti lashed out at two of the wieners, driving one off stage, video shows. He ate just one dog, according to official results — but Conti proved his guts ahead of the contest, downing a dozen in three minutes atop a car on the rotating Wonder Wheel on June 24.
